One Bird, Two Stones
by magisterquinn
Summary: [AU]A notorious thief is threatening Raven's museum exhibit, and her life. If you can tolerate meticoulous detail, gut wrenching suspense, and sweet romances, this is for you. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll dance... its better than Cats BBxRae
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: Trying to follow in the footsteps of my first fic, Before Sunrise, I'm back with another BBxRae story. I'm really passionate about this one because its about the noblest of crimes, if you can call crimes noble,stealing, so please be nice. But flames I don't mind so long as its not about the couple, that's just dumb. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM).**

**Anywho, with that done,on with the show.**

**

* * *

**

Prologue- Headlines and Busy Eyes

**CLEOPATRA EXHIBIT TO GRACE THE HALLS OF THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM**

For the first time in history, the artefacts of the 'Queen of the Nile' is leaving its home at The British Museum and vacationing in our backyard.

The Royal Ontario Museum is hosting this once in a lifetime opportunity. The curator of the ROM is "ecstatic" and was "greatly honoured to be taking care of such historically important artefacts."

She added, "This is a historic moment and will be treated as such. All precautions will be taken to assure the security of these precious historical tributes."

The exhibit is being funded by Richard Grayson, adopted son and sole heir to Bruce Wayne. He is also being aided by eccentric millionaire and humanitarian Garfield Logan.

When asked why, Grayson stated, "It's a beautiful exhibit if you ever get a chance to see it. Unfortunately many kids don't have that privilege since they don't have the opportunity to fly to Britain. I grew up here so I know how it feels. I just wanted to give back to the community."

The exhibit shall span the ROM's new Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. Exhibits currently in the third level of the crystal will be temporarily relocated to make room. Antiquities will also be displayed at and around Crystal Court on the street level. The 'Queen of the Nile' comes to Toronto early May of next year and will be open until mid-August.

**

* * *

**

ROM JACKS UP SECURITY FOR QUEEN OF THE NILE

Due to the widespread popularity of the Cleopatra exhibit to come to the Royal Ontario Museum next year, thousands of people are expected to flock from all around the globe. As a result of this, the security for them museum will be undergoing major renovations.

Victor Stone, president of Cerberus Security, will personally be heading the campaign himself.

"Gar(field) is a very close friends of mine and I'm doing it as a favour to him," Stone commented, "The system we're putting up in place here will be absolutely top of the line and most modern. All of this is new technology that I have personally designed so the exhibit is perfectly safe from any threat."

The galleries and corridors will be constantly monitored by 81 video surveillance cameras with enhanced digital recoding. Each of the 50 security personnel will be equipped with wireless duress transmitters.

The halls will be lined with a mix of infrared and microwave motion sensors and each display will be set up with three alarms.

"A fly won't be able to get in without our knowing once this system is up," says Stone.

When asked about the costs of security, Garfield Logan, CEO of Sakutia Pharmaceuticals and a key sponsor of the exhibit had this to say, "Money is no object. You cannot possibly expect to put financial values on these antiquities as well as the hopes and dreams of all the kids we're doing this for."

* * *

Getting past Victor Stone's security would prove to be very difficult indeed. His eyes scanned every page of the blue prints of the ROM, looking for faults for weaknesses. Of course he did have the security plans in front of him, but disabling the security and entering the building were two very different things. 

The design of the structure itself seemed so unreal. Most buildings had 90°angles and walls were perpendicular to the ground. No, not this building. Yes indeed, it was quite a challenge. The sharps turns of the walls and odd shapes of the pillars would prove to be difficult. If only he didn't want it so bad. And what ever he wanted he would get.

* * *

**A/N: Well there it is. Hope it didn't suck too bad. BTW if you go to my profile then you'll find a link to what the Michael Lee-Chin wing should look like. Its currently underconstruction and this story is set in 2009.**


	2. Great Expectations

**Author's Note: **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans orthe ROM.**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 1 - Great Expectations**

Raven closed her eyes and put the papers down. All over her desk were newspaper articles and clippings on the upcoming 'Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile' exhibit.

'**QUEEN' ON LOAN FROM BRITISH MUSEUM**

**CLEOPATRA TO VISIT THE ROM**

**TORONTO IN THE PRESENCE OF GREATNESS**

The headlines kept pouring. It had been about 2 months ago when the announcement was made and yet the media kept throwing wood into the fire. She smiled as she raised a hand to massage her eyes. This was her baby. And, oh, what and honour this was. It was historic. Once in a life time. Never to be seen for another 50 years. And she, Raven Roth, was in charge of it all. Considering she was only 25 and this being just her 5th year as curator, this was epic.

She started at the ROM long before the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal was finished in 2006. A graduate of York University majoring in Egyptology, Raven was quickly shoved into the limelight. After acting as assistant curator to her predecessor, the boys upstairs recognized her talent and obvious eye for design and made _her_ the curator for the new Crystal Wing. The 22 year old Raven Roth was well on her way. And all without the help of her no good father…

Of course, such a prestigious position came with its draw backs. There were sponsors to deal with. _Ugh_. Raven shuddered at the mere thought. Raven hated dealing with the sponsors. They were always so prissy and stuck up, like they owned the place. True, there would be no exhibit without them, but everyone knows they're not doing it for the "good of the people" as they say. They're in it for good publicity.

Though, she didn't always have this attitude towards the rich, she went out with Dick Grayson for a while. Yes, _the_ Dick Grayson. Suave, handsome, billionaire extraordinaire. He was perfect, or at least seemed it in front of cameras. After a month of dating, she quickly realised that Dick was just that, a dick.

He became an over zealous son-of-a-bitch that wouldn't let Raven talk to any other male figure. She would be talking to visitor in the museum and he would come barging in, accusing her of cheating. Not to mention his obsessive compulsive disorder, everything had to go his way, or else. So fed up, Raven called it off. For the next few months he grovel for her to take him back. Sending packages from Gotham of chocolates, the good kind, and what-nots. He even went so far as to buy her an Egyptian concubine ring. And as touching, and probably expensive, as all of it was Raven was as stubborn as a mule about it all.

The ringing of the phone jerked Raven out of her near napping state. Reluctantly, the reached across her desk and picked it up.

"Raven Roth," her voice lacked enthusiasm. Anybody who really knew her could tell she was tired and would be on a short fuse. Others wouldn't even notice the change in her monotonous voice.

"Hello Miss Roth, this is the office of Garfield Logan speaking." _O great, they've started already._ The voice on the other line was bubbly, too bubbly for someone who was calling at 10 o clock at night.

"Yes, what can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to remind you Miss Roth that Mr. Logan is on his way for your meeting there tomorrow." _O shit_. She completely forgot she had a meeting with the key sponsors and the head of security tomorrow. They were to discuss the instalment of the new security system.

"Sure thing. Is that all?"

"Yes Miss Roth, have a nice evening." Raven hung up without so much as a goodbye. _Great, this means Richard will be there. Just, super._ She groaned.

She sighed, rested both her elbows on the table and buried her face in her hands, letting out a soft moan. This was going to be a long six months.

* * *

**A/N:**


	3. As the City Sleeps

**Author's Note:This fic may be slower to update than my previous one, so try to be patient with me. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, the ROM or the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.**

* * *

**Chapter 2 - As the City Sleeps...**

Stepping out into the cold, Raven shuddered and protectively pulled her hood up to shield her head from the wind. She was wearing her long woollen jacket that went past her knees, scarf looped and tied meticulously around her neck, covered most of her face. Thick mitts on her hands and long, black, leather knee-high boots on her feet. It was the middle of a bitter December and Jack Frost had been making his rounds. Everything but the black of the road was white. She could vaguely make out the spotlights that light up the face of the building and the street lights. Raven squinted as she toed the ground to make sure she was stepping on the sidewalk. Satisfied with finding hard concrete under her shoes she walked the short walk to the subway. _Thank God that the subway is right here. Bless the man who decided to but the line underneath the museum._

She made her way down the steps to the station to appropriately called Museum. All that could be heard were the _shlock shlock_ of her heels hitting slush on the tiled stairs.

_Why the hell did I wear heels? Shoulda worn flats. _Sensible_ people wear flats in a snow storms, but nooo. Not Raven Roth, she has to be different._ Raven slowly, cautiously made her way down the dangerously slippery steps. Suddenly, just when she thought she was safe, she slipped down the last four steps. Hitting the cold hard ground so hard that for a while she couldn't get up.

Getting up, she dusted off what she could of the drity browning slush now attached to her wool coat. She could feel eyes of other commuters mocking her. As she walked to pay her fare, she realised the heel on her right boot had broken off. Limping and cursing to herself she made her ways, scowling, to the turnstiles. She could see people stilfling laughter around her. _Shoulda worn fucking flats.

* * *

_

Emerald green eyes watched as heavy snow drifted from the sky. Garfield Logan looked out of the cab window and crooked his head to the side, massaging the back of it with his hand. It had been a long ride in from Chicago, given it was only a few hours but the hustle and bustle of airports were exhausting on their own. Gar could easily afford his own airplane and a limo to drive him around, but he preferred to stay anonymous. Just another face in the crowd. Besides, he wasn't so big a name as to have people recognize him outside of Chicago, London and various parts of Africa.

The orange taxi pulled up to the front of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, the best hotel in Toronto. The driver got out to retrieve the bags from the trunk. A bell boy came and took over, placing the two bags on a trolley, he like to travel light. He smiled his debonair smile and handed the taxi driver the fare, with a good amount of tip. The driver beamed at him, bowed and said many thank you's before getting back in his cab and driving away.

Gar looked around the front of the hotel, pulled his collar up and went inside.

* * *

Finally reaching the warmth of her loft, Raven began the exhaustive task of removing all of her winter wear. Article of clothing by article of clothing, Raven took off everything, save her underwear, and threw it all into her hamper. She then headed to the bathroom and ran a bath. She walked out into the kitchen and put on a kettle. 

She went through her regular ritual of coming home, taking out her cup, choosing a type of tea, reaching into the freezer to sneak a bite of ice cream, the usual.

Raven leaned against the counter, the cold black marble against her bare skin shocking her for a moment, waiting for her water to boil. She wiggled her toes on the hardwood floor that crept in from the living and dining rooms. She sighed and looked into her reflection against the silver sheen of the kettle. Reaching a hand up behind her head, she pulled out her hair tie and shook out her hair.

_God, I'm not normal am I_, she thought as stared at her reflection. Her pinked cheeks as a result of the cold contrasted with her skin. Her complexion was what might have been called 'fair' in Shakespeare's time but now would be referred to as 'sickly pale'. It wasn't like she could help it, she was born with ivory white skin bordering on grey.

And her hair. God, how she hated her hair. _Why did I even bother growing it?_ She hated taking care of her hair, which was black with undertones of purple in certain light. She studied at the distorted half-naked woman in black underwear in front of her. Then she remembered… she'd left the tap on.

Rushing to the washroom, Raven turned of the tap testing the water with her fingers. She went back to the kettle, which had been boiling by now, moved it to a holder in the counter and turned the stove off. She poured the water into the cup and walked back to the washroom, cup in hand, taking occasional sips. She then laid the cup down on the floor next to the tub, stripped off her underwear and stepped in.

The water was scalding hot, but to someone who had just come in from a snowstorm, it was heaven. Raven quickly got comfortable in the tub. Sinking in all the way, submersing her head as to wet her hair then rising up slowly. Her jet black hair sticking on either sides of her face. Her head rested on the edge a she closed her eyes, the ambience of the bathroom calming her, lulling her asleep.

* * *

Raven awoke in the tub 20 minutes later. She realised where she was and began swearing in her head. _Good one Raven. Real smart, falling asleep in a bath tub._ She looked over at the maple clock on the wall. 10:35. She sighed, resting her head back again. 

Looking around the washroom she felt at ease. The ceiling lights were turned low so as to not blind her when she looked up. To her left was the stone wall with various sizes of grey limestone. The stone leaked past the tub and spilled onto the floor. The rest of the walls were a calming beige. Neutral. Peaceful. Chinese brush paintings of flowers and various characters surrounded her, all framed in cherry oak frames. To her immediate right was the porcelain toilet and just beyond it was the sink. White marble tops with the same cherry finished cabinet drawers.

Raven reached over the toilet and grabbed a hold of her towel. She stood in the tub, waited for some of the water to drip off and rung out her hair. Then she stepped into her plush grey shag carpet and wrapped the towel loosely around her. She reached down and took the already cold tea.

Heading through the doors leading to the bedroom, her hands fumbled along the wall looking for the light switch. The light came on revealing her room. The wall above her head board, a rich navy blue and her beech finished Laguna bed accentuating the room. The entire room was finished in either beech wood or blue. Blue being her favourite colour. The wall opposite of the blue wall had a big Chinese character, bordered by smaller characters, hope. Each image mounted on borderless glass frames. She laid the tea cup down on her dresser.

Raven dried herself off, slipped on her blue cashmere robe and headed towards the double French doors leading into the living room. The huge loft windows over looked a sleeping Toronto. Street lights dulled out by thick falling snow, lights in building flickering off. She laid a hand against the window and watched the snow fall on the city, her hair dripping water down to the cold hardwood below her feet.

* * *

Gar leaned back on the plush sofa of the large one bedroom suite he was staying in. Papers of all sizes laid out on the coffee table in front of him, blueprints, print outs of each piece, copies of the security measures that Victor had planned. All of which Dick had copies as well. 

Coming to Toronto was pleasant enough. Pearson Airport worked as efficiently was airports are expected to. Hailing a cab wasn't all that difficult. Even the receptionists at the lobby were extremely nice and ready to be at his every beck and call, all of course after finding out whom he was. The lobby was magnificent enough to impress him. Lounge chairs scattered around, marble tiles on the floor, golden chandeliers hung down from high ceilings. A clock ran from the middle of the room. They had offered him the Royal Suite which would have been a two bedroom suite with a large living area featuring a wet bar and decorative non-functional fireplace. It came with a conference table that seated up to 18 people and could also easily entertain 30 people. But Gar didn't need any of that stuff. He just needed a room big enough to hold press conferences and work.

Gar sighed as he got up and poured himself another glass of Scotch. He sighed as he took a sip; it had been a long couple of months concerning this exhibit. The British Museum had been giving him hell about transportation and said they would not ship the artefacts until the security was well in place. Meanwhile, the Royal Ontario Museum had already cleared all of the floor space and was only waiting on the display pieces.

All this work he was doing had to make him wonder what the hell Dick was doing. It seem like he's just the rich face for the project and is only in it for the publicity. "_Oh look at me I care about the children." _Victor has been very supportive the past couple of months and with only three months to go before the grand opening everyone, save Richard, of course, was working their butts off.

Gar walked over to the huge windows facing Lake Ontario. He ran his tongue over his 'fangs'. His canines had been abnormally pointy since his permanent teeth grew in. Not so much so as to make him look like a vampire but enough that if he bit down someone he could probably tear off skin. Feral jade eyes watched snow fall. Tomorrow he would meet the curator of the ROM. He had heard very much about her and was rumoured to be a beauty comparable only to Nefertiti. He chuckled at his own ugly Egyptian pun. She was also rumoured to be extremely gifted at what she does and around his own age, single no less. He smiled at himself, thinking about what fun tomorrow would bring. Although he couldn't see much of it, he knew Toronto was down there somewhere; sleepingcovered in a blanket of February snowfall.

* * *


	4. First Impressions

**Author's Note: Sorry about the first couple of chapters, it's been a slow start. I just really wanted people who have never been to Toronto or any of the places to be able to visualize it. THe last chapter also emphasized Gar and Raven's loneliness. I had an alternate chapter 2 but I'll post that when I'm done. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans orthe ROM.

* * *

**

**Chapter 3 - First Impressions**

_Click, Click, click_. The fast-paced clicking of Raven's heels against concrete could be heard throughout the museum. Workers were busy putting together display cases in Crystal Court. Raven had run through with her assistant, Kori, where the cases should be and was now hurrying back to her office for her meeting.

Raven wore a black pencil skirt that stopped right above her knees. Her top, a blood red, was silk and hung loosely around her shoulders, she left the top three buttons open for ventilation. It also gave everyone an eyeful of cleavage that Raven could care less about. He wore her no-nonsense black pointed boots with the killer 2 ½ inch heels. Her long hair held together by two chopsticks in a messy bun, to strands of hair framing her face.

Earlier, a worker had wolf whistled at her. A big mistake. Raven quickly spun on her heel and after giving the fat balding man an earful, fired him right on the spot and walked away.

Raven stood outside her office door, decided to button up a button on her blouse and straightened her hair. She took two deep breaths and opened the door. She found three men in her office. The first person she noticed was Dick Grayson, that scumbag. He had his hair slicked back as usual. He wore his black suit and sunglasses; he was sitting in the guest chair in front of her desk and beamed at her. Raven merely raised a freshly tweezed eyebrow at him and turned her attention to the other man, sitting in the guest chair.

He has a big black man who stood as she entered. He was bald and wore a friendly smile as well as jeans and a blue button up polo. She gave him a friendly smile back before turning to the last man.

He was leaning against the window, one elbow propped up on the sill, his other hand holding the opposite arm. He had messy brown hair and wore a casual dark grey ribbed turtle neck underneath a black suit. His legs were crossed in a way that said he was comfortable, his head turned to look at the falling snow outside. It seemed as if he didn't even notice someone had come in.

Raven cleared her throat and walked towards the tall black man and took his hand, "Hello, I'm Raven Roth curator of the Renaissance ROM. Victor Stone I presume."

"Yes I am, very nice to meet your acquaintance Miss Roth." He smiled warmly at her.

"Please, call me Raven." She turned to Dick, "Hello Dick." The coldness in her voice caught the third man's attention as he turned his head to watch.

Dick smiled warmly and took her in an embrace, "Long time to see Raven. How long has it been?" She pulled away before murmuring a faint, "Not long enough."

She turned to the last man and stuck out her hand, "Raven Roth."

He took it and smiled at her. His beautiful green eyes piercing into hers, she was taken aback by it. "Gar, Garfield Logan" They both stood there, holding each other's hand's for a moment longer before Raven cleared her throat and let go. She made her way to her desk and pressed a button on her intercom.

"Kor, could you send Ji-Jennifer Hagge in please," she then turned to her visitors, "I'm just calling in our local Head of Security here at the ROM. She knows more about this stuff than I do." _That was it? That was your dumb lame attempt at humour? She knows more about this stuff?_ Raven smiled at Victor, trying to avoid Gar's piercing gaze and avoid Dick all together.

Gar watched her from the window sill. _My Lord, the rumours were true, she is beautiful._ He looked at her and took it all in, her eyes, her mouth, the way her voice sounded, the way she moved, even how she smelled when she brushed past him.

Suddenly the door swung open and a small woman entered and marched right up to Raven's desk. She was chewing gum and popping it and wearing overalls with one side hanging open. Her hair was tied back into two pig tails at the back of her head, her hair was platinum blonde with pink streaks. Her mannerisms, just like her entry, were brash get to the point. She had very little class, that she showed, and emanated an aura of a this-is-me-deal-with-it attitude. Victor's jaw dropped as she walked pass him, even with her rough & tough exterior she was still pretty.

She slammed her palms face down on Raven's mahogany desk, "You called boss."

"Yes, Jinx. These men are here for the exhibit. They are the key sponsors," said Raven waving an arm towards Dick and Gar, "And this gentleman is Victor Stone, the hea-"

Jinx quickly turned around, one hand on her hip the other still on the desk and faced Vic, "So _you're_ the hot shot security man huh?"

Vic gulped visibly and nodded. She chuckled and stuck her hand out, "Hey, I'm Jennifer Hagge," she winked at him, "call me Jinx." He took her hand in a slow hand shake before she turned around to face Gar and Dick.

"Heya fellas. Jenn Hagge at your service." She did an exaggerated bow that had Gar laughing and Raven massaging her temples embarrassedly.

Gar raised a hand in a fixed wave, "Gar Logan."

Dick on the other hand, offended by her rude nature simply threw out his name impassively, "Richard Grayson." Jinx turned back to Raven and mocked him silently which made Raven have to stifle a laugh.

"Okay, lady and gentlemen. Let's do a walkthrough of the wing with Jinx here as our guide shall we?" Raven stood and everyone followed suit. Jinx headed out first followed closely by Victor. Dick followed, not even bothering to hold the door open for Raven. Just before the door closed, Gar caught it and held it open for her. He smiled his boyish smile as she nodded her head in a silent thank you.

* * *

"The skin of the structure is 75 aluminium and 25 glass," Jinx motioned towards the ceilings, "and of course all the glass if reinforced with the latest in smart glass technology." Dick and Victor nodded their heads, impressed. Victor was walking beside her, seriously taking in all she was saying, holding his palm pilot, furiously taking down notes. Dick on the other hand simply lagged on behind them, not at all interested. Raven and Gar held up the rear, walking side by side. Gar stealing glances at her once in a while.

The modern halls of the wing were lit up with bright white light. From within, you could really see the odd structure which made the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal unique. None of the walls met at right angles, everything was distorted. The walls and floor were all concrete save for the passages in the Spirit Room which were steel mesh.

"This is the spirit room," Jinx led them into a small room that continued on vertically. The entire room was lit up by very bright white lights. Two bridges crossed at the middle in an X shape. "This room continues through the whole structure and connects the wings of the museum." Everyone looked up to see the room continue, the found themselves staring at other cross section bridges above them. Below was another set of cross bridges and below that the ground floor.

Jinx turned around, faced everyone and announced and a mocking tour guide voice, "And thus concludes or security tour of the ROM. Please collect your valuables at the grand floor. Hope you had an enjoyable stay and don't let the front door hit ya where the good Lord split ya." Gar and Vic laughed while Raven scowled and Dick simply acted as if he didn't hear.

Vic cleared his throat, "Okay, what about personnel? How many are there? And have they been checked out?"

"We'll if you'd follow me to my office I can show ya. Hey Raven, you can take over from here. You wouldn't wanna follow; we'll be discussing techie nerd security stuff." And with that Jinx and Victor disappeared through the threshold leaving Raven with Dick and Gar.

Just then, Gar's phone began to ring. His ring tone a familiar Goldberg Variations 25 by Bach. Raven raised he eyebrow impressed.

"Excuse me, I have to take this call," he said, apologetic, before leaving the Spirit Room.

Dick smirked and leaned an arm against the railing of the bridge. _I hope you fall,_ thought Raven.

"So babe, here we are. How are you?"

"Better than ever," she was just about to walk away when she felt his arm around her waist. She tried to wiggle away but he was too strong.

"Nuh uh. You aren't going any where. Not unless you tell me that our break up was a mistake and that you'll take me back. Come on Raven, I know you're lonely," He leaned his face in for a kiss and whispered, "I can see it in your eyes, you want me."

Suddenly, Raven smirked then dug her heel into his toe forcing him to let her go. He limped around in circles trying to walk off the pain throbbing in his big toe.

"Listen, _Dick_, we are through. This is _strictly_ business. I appreciate your donation and the museum thanks you. But if you think for one second that bringing this exhibit here is going to buy my affection back, you can think again." She spun on her heel, her voice laced with venom, and walked out of the Spirit Room. She was so blinded by her anger that she didn't see Gar walking down the hall way and slammed right into him.

He caught her, one arm around her waist, his other hand holding her forearm. She looked up at his gorgeous green eyes and blushed furiously.

"Uh, excuse me. I'm so sorry Mr. Logan, I-" she pulled away and began dust herself off, turning away so that he wouldn't see her face had gone a beet red.

"It's fine, and, please, call me Gar." She turned around to find him smiling at her with that boyish smile of his; she almost melted on the spot. _Get yourself together Raven, he's a sponsor_.

"Well, Gar, I really am very sorry I should have been looki-" He interrupted her again.

"I already said, its okay," he kept smiling at her, watching her fumble for apologies. _She's probably nervous about bumping into a key sponsor,_ he thought.

"Tell you what," he began, leaning into her face, "You can make it up to me by joining me for lunch. How's that sound? If we're lucky we can still catch brunch."

Raven was about to refuse with an excuse about her having so much work, despite what her mind kept telling her, when she heard Dick walking up behind her. She smiled up at Gar and touched his arm gingerly, "I'd love to."

* * *

**A/N: Hehe, this will also be a slightly Robin bashing, CyxJinx fic. **


	5. As Friendly Colleagues

**Author's Note: Okay, bear with me here please. I'm mostly setting up plot and relationships. Just let me get through this day and then the real fun will start.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or the Serra.**

* * *

Chapter 4 - As Friendly Colleagues

Gar and Raven stood outside the Bloor Street exit of the Crystal, both preparing for the blistering cold outside. Gar wrapped a blue and grey stripped scarf around his neck, the tails falling to his waist. His black jacket reaching his knees. Raven wore her usual long black wool jacket, ho hat but with a magenta fluffy cashmere scarf. Gar ushered her through the first doors.

"Are you sure you don't mind walking? I mean, I'm really sorry but I usually don't rent cars in cities with transit."

"Don't worry about it. I don't drive either so I'm used to commuting," she smiled, patronizing with him. In all honesty she was glad he didn't have a car. She didn't quite know what it was but getting into cars with strange men, even the rich well-known ones, was a little nerve wracking for her. If they were walking and she found out he was a maniac, at least she'd have a chance to get away.

"Well, at least the place isn't too far. Maybe you've heard of it. It's called the Serra?"

"O yes, I've heard of it. It's quite well known."

"Great then, let's get going." He opened the door and ushered her out. A brisk gust of cold breeze rushed them as the door opened and they walked out into a sunny but cold Sunday air.

* * *

They both took of their coats and scarves as the hostess ushered them to their seats, a small two-seater table near the back, away from the prying eyes of city streets. The orange glow of the restaurant emanated calmness and a casual aura. They both sat down and threw their coats onto the backs of their chairs. Sitting down, they were greeted by a waiter handing them the lunch menus, they hadn't quite made it for brunch. 

After a moment of quite contemplation of what to order, the waiter returned and took it down.

" Angel hair with sun dried tomatoes, red onions, roasted garlic and olive oil in a light tomato sauce," Gar ordered. He was a vegetarian. Once he had tried going vegan and it didn't quite work out, there's only so much tofu one man can take.

"Fettuccini with smoked chicken, woodland mushrooms and artichoke hearts in a rosé sauce, please." The waiter nodded taking down their orders and was about to walk away when Gar motioned for him to stay.

"Drinks?"

"Uhm, Coke will be fine."

Gar smirked and told the waiter, "Sprite thanks," all without taking her eyes off of Raven. A few more moments of silence passed until Gar decided to break it.

"So Miss Roth, I gotta ask you, as a historian…. Which came first, the chicken of the egg?" He leaned in, elbows on the table with a pensively serious look on his face.

Raven raised an eyebrow, "Is this your idea of small talk Mr. Logan?" The whole walk there they had both stayed silent, comfortably within the warmth of their respective scarves. But now, the conversation had started and despite herself, Raven couldn't help but be nervous.

"No, this is my idea of an ice breaker. And I told you, call me Gar. Anyways, if you had taken me seriously I really wouldn't have an answer." He leaned back on his chair, both hands on the table still. Raven took this as a sign of his openness. Most people, her included, would hide their hands underneath the table in the presence of new company. He on the other hand kept them out on the open with confidence. _Well he does have something to be confident about, he has nice hands. I wonder what they'd feel like on my… Snap out of it!_

Raven cleared her throat, shaking herself mentally from the thoughts, "Well, then Mr. Logan-"

"Gar."

"Um, yes, Gar, I haven't properly thanked you, on behalf of the museum, for your generosity. "

He waved a hand passively as if to swat a fly, "Oh, it was nothing."

"Nothing? This must have coast a small fortune,"

He leaned in again, elbows propped on the table, "Well if it makes you feel any better, Dick paid for most of it. I'm just doing all the work." She smiled at his logic; he had obviously seen the little tiff back at the Spirit Room. She suddenly felt confident around him; his laid back attitude had her accepting his challenge.

"Well thank you for your work then," She herself leaned in, elbows propped on the table, mirroring his posture, "How did you come across your millions anyways."

He leaned back and rested his arm across the back of his chair. His other hand rubbing his chin in pensive thought, "Hmm… My parents were scientists, chemical biologists actually. As a child I grew up in Kenya--"

"Oh? Are you fluent?"

"In Swahili, yes. Well a disease called Sakutia, the namesake for my company, was ravaging Africa at the time and my parents developed, not a cure, but something that took the pain away. Unfortunately, they both succumbed to the disease and passed away. Then 18, I came to the U.S. with the money I had inherited and started a pharmaceutical company in their name with their drug as the main product. The company hit it off well and here I am." He raised both his arms as if to show himself as he was; a final to-da to his tragic story.

"I'm sorry about your parents," Raven leaned back as well, sorry that she brought up such painful memories for the sake of conversation.

"It's fine; it was a long time ago. Almost 10 years ago, I'm over it. People die, it's the way things go. The real sin is to forget." They both sat in silence, mulling over his powerful words. This time Raven broke the silence.

"So, I've heard you've done a lot of humanitarian work."

Laughed a little and looked right in her eyes, "Yeah, I try to give back as much as I can."

Now she raised her eyebrow, "Humble are we?"

"No seriously. I don't even own a mansion. I live in a small, one bed room loft on the north side of Chicago. I guess growing up where I did you get used to living with just the necessities."

Her eyebrow stayed up. Stayed sceptical, "But you're staying at the Royal York…"

"Ahh, but see that," he leaned in on the table once again, "that was Dick's idea. He says we need to be keeping up appearances for publicity's sake. I don't even have a rental car while he's driven around on a limo. If it were up to me I'd be staying at the Holiday Inn." They both laugh. Each feeling more secure with the other.

He stayed there leaning in, head on his hands, taking in as much of her as he could, "But enough about me. This is starting to sound like an interview. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Well, tell me about yourself."

"I'm Raven Roth, Head Curator of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal at the Royal Ontario Museum." She shrugged and just gave him the basic. _Just because he feels like opening up doesn't mean I do._

"Hmm, interesting," he said playing along to her vagueness, "How'd you get into museum work?"

"Well, I would spend all my time here as a kid. I majored in Egyptology at York U so the ROM was the natural way to go."

"Egyptology," he asked, now seriously interested, "Wow, then this must be quite the treat for you."

"Oh yeah," she began finding the wonder in her work again, "Doing an exhibit of this magnitude has been a dream come true for me."

"Ahh… I see… So how do you know Richard?" This was it. It was the question he had been waiting to ask since he saw their little argument.

"Isn't that a little personal?" she asked, a tad uncomfortable with the idea of discussing her love life with someone who could be considered a boss, regardless of how cute he was.

"Well, this isn't exactly a business meeting."

She smirked and leaned in, meeting his challenge, "What exactly _is_ it then?"

He smiled at her, that innocently boyish smile, "It's a friendly outing between two colleagues."

"Ah, I see."

"Yes, and as long as we're friendly colleagues… How do you know _the_ Dick Grayson?" He said 'the' with mock astonishment, as if he were a crazy young fan girl, she had to smile at this.

"We used to date," she sighed, exasperated. She knew that he would push until he finally got it out of her.

"_Used_ to?" That one word gave him the slightest glimmer of hope. _Well I can certainly see what he saw in her._

"Yeah, I broke it off."

"Really," the exaggerated girly voice returning, "How come?"

She scoffed, "Well, do you know him?"

"Personally no, not until 3 months ago when we first started. But I've heard quite a lot." O yeah, he'd heard a lot about Richard's promiscuity. He was rumoured to be quite the playboy, with a girl in every city that he stayed at, telling each of them that they were the only one. Raven was probably his 'candy from Toronto'. Gar couldn't help but get angry at the thought.

"Yes, well, the man was an obsessive compulsive, over protective, rich pretty boy. Let's just leave it at that." He could hear the anger in her voice and decided to lighten things up a bit.

"Oh, you know rich boys aren't _all_ bad…" He rolled his eyes and turned his head staring at her through the sides of his eyes.

"Oh no, not rich boys. Just Dick." He laughed a hearty full laugh.

"So, you said over protective huh?"

"It was like having a Pit Bull." They were both leaning in now, enjoying themselves at Dick's expense.

"But with a Jag and who brings chocolates right?"

"Precisely," they both laugh and Gar sighed.

"Well, looking at you. I think he was right to be over protective." Gar crooked his head to the right as if trying to get a better angle of her face. Raven quickly recoiled and suppressed the heat rising to her face.

Fumbling with her words, she quickly tried to change the subject, "We-well what about you? As long as we're on a personal note… Are you seeing anyone? You know, asking as a friendly colleague." He on the other hand didn't pull back; he stayed on his elbows and looked right in her eyes in a way that made her squirm. There was such brutal honesty in his feral emerald eyes.

"Well then, I must say no."

"Ha, you'd have me believe that Gar Logan: handsome millionaire doesn't have girls lining up outside his door?"

"Handsome," his eyebrows shot up hopefully, "You think I'm handsome?"

"I say that strictly as a friendly colleague."

"Oh, well then, in that case, no. I'm more of the eccentric millionaire, far to giving to be a true millionaire. I certainly don't live like one. And I'm proud to say, I'm no Dick Grayson."

She smiled, "Good to hear it."

"Est tu? Currently attached?" He prayed to God that the next word out of her mouth wasn't 'yes'.

"No." _There is a God!_ There was bitterness in her voice, and a touch of… regret?

"Why not? Smart, beautiful woman like you?" She blushed slightly.

"No, men usually don't want workaholic, cold-hearted bitches as their girlfriends."

He raised an eyebrow at her as if she started speaking in gibberish, "Hmm, workaholic? I see ambitious, and as for your cold heart. Maybe you just need the right guy," he winked at her, "with a blowtorch."

She opened her mouth to retaliate, not realising the blush that had crept across her face, but she was cut off by a plate being placed in front of her.

Gar shook out his napkin and grinned, "Ahh, well looks like brunch is served."

* * *


	6. Security Talks and Dinner Dates

**Author's Note: This is a bit of a techie chapter. A small budding relationship with Vic and Jinx and a lot of museum technology lingo. But mind you this is the real deal, so if you plan on robbing a museum anytime soon, you should take these security measures into mind. Given they aren't real for the ROM and and a bit exagerrated for the story's sake. Most museums are not this secure and do not have this much money to blow on cameras and motion sensors. These details are important for plot, I swear.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, the ROM or the Serra.

* * *

**

**Chapter 5 - Security Talks and Dinner Dates**

Jinx leaned over Victor. He was sitting in her seat looking over her computer models of the wing. They had been staring at the screen for over 3 hours deciding where to place cameras and motion sensors.

Jinx pulled back and laid a hand on her hip, the other on the desk holding her up. All around herdesk were blue prints for the structure and models of the cameras and motion detectors being used. Behind her desk was a cut away, scale model of the structure. You could lift off the levels piece by piece and look at the lay-outs of each room.

"Alright Sparky, what kind of motion detectors did you have in mind?" He swivelled on the chair, not taking his eyes off of the screen.

"Well, a combination of both infrared and microwave," he turned his head to face her, "think you can handle that?"

"I can handle whatever you throw at me." He smiled and turned back to the computer model and started typing quickly.

"Well then catch." The screen was black with a blue grid that represented the walls of the building. Suddenly the screen pulled back revealing the entire 3rd level, which is where the exhibit would be.

"Red shows exits, both public and service doors." Jinx nodded. Red areas of the grid began to glow, there were only 2. The crystal was built so that there was only one way to get in or out of the other levels, the Stairs of Wonder. Also the Spirit Room ran throughout the structure, acting as a potential entry point.

"Green is infrared." Green points began to glow around the structure, each emanating a small green circular area around it.

"Yellow is microwave." The same thing began to happen with yellow points.

"Note that with this lay out, there is no point not covered by any one of their motion radii." Jinxstuck outher bottom lip and nodded, impressed. The entire 3rd level was covered with green and yellow orbs.

"Now, as for entry points…" Vic continued to type in the computer. The blue 3-D model became whole again only to be sliced in half along the Stairs of Wonder. Each of the double doors leading into every level was glowing red. Victor then quickly turned around in the chair and looked at Jinx straight in the eye. She had been leaning in and not expecting him to turn so quickly so they met face to face, inches apart. But neither backed down.

"That's your plan?" Victor was the toone pull away, he leaned back in the chair, crossed his legs and rested his hands on his stomach.

"Yep that's my plan."

"Well, are the rest of the levels going to be this secure?"

He shook his head, "Nope, just level 3 and Crystal Court. It'd be bitchin' expensive if we did all the levels. And of course, when the exhibit leaves, you can kiss all this technology goodbye."

Jinx pursed her lips together and blew a flying kiss at him mockingly. He smirked and caught it before crushing it in his hand and pretending to let the dust fall on the floor.

"Okay, so we covered personnel, each would have a wireless duress transmitter that would cover where they are at all times along with two-way radios," She ticked off each item on her fingers as she listed them, "Cameras will be all over the place, closed circuit digital recording with night vision. And the saturated motion detectors with a patch right to the police. Both infrared and microwave, because you said so."

"No…Metallic sculptures can trigger microwave alarms and infrared can be swayed by temperature changes in the atmosphere."

"Yeah, and that. Now what about the displays themselves. I know Raven and she'll be very particular about what the public can see." The both thought for a moment in silence.

Suddenly Jinx clapped her hands, "I got it. A three-tiered hierarchal alarm at each display." She shoved him over and took over the computer. The black 3-D model disappeared and a rotating 3-D model of a glass display case came on screen.

"We can't put these on a pedestal 'cuz Rae will kill me. She wants the pieces to be accessible to children. That means no alarms that set off with people standing too close or lingering. So, a pre-alarm is set off if there is a failure of power supply or a glitch in the system." Victor nodded following. The image on the screen stopped rotating and a wire running from the bottom transmitted a small beam of light to a miniature police car.

"The second alarm is if there is a blatant attack on the glass. We could run a copper wire inside the glass and if it breaks, the police are noted." A floating baseball bat smashed the glass on the screen and another beam of light was passed onto the police.

"The last alarm is a vibration sensor that will alarm if the piece is moved. Of course it can't be too sensitive, what with kids running around and bumping into display cases, we'll have to give a little lee-way for that." Jinx pulled back as the final beam is sent to the police and they immediately rush to the display case.

"Of course, all of these will be monitored at the communication workstation right," Vic asked.

"Of course."

"And all information will be sent via infrared directly to the monitor in real time, correct?"

"Absolutely."

Vic grinned and got up, gathering all the papers on the desk, "Well alright then! How's about I buy you a hotdog outside?"

"Oh really? A hotdog? Oh Victor, you are _too_ generous," she said, he voice dripping with sarcasm. He left the papers in a neat pile on the desk and went to retrieve his jacket. Jinx followed and took Vic's arm as he offered it and they both walked out the door laughing.

* * *

The crowd of the restaurant began to dwindle away. Their plates empty, their bellies full Gar and Raven stayed Serra for another half hour, talking about absolutely nothing. During the meal they had grazed over life's simple pleasures, such as the taste of a nicely ripened orange, or the welcoming warmth of a hot bath. As they sat, concluding a talk about the importance of personal hygiene, Raven glanced at her watch. "It's almost 2. I really have to be getting back." He sighed, regretting the constrictions of time. Unfortunately, he had to leave also. He motioned for the bill as the waiter handed them a small tray with mints, each of them pocketing a mint. 

"Yeah, I gotta make it back to the hotel for a press conference at 3." They both got up and began to put on their winter apparel. Gar was first to finish, he took put his wallet and threw down $50. Raven was about to reach into her purse when she felt Gar's hand on hers. She looked up to see him wink at her and mouth an 'I got it'. Together they thanked the waiter and walked out into the Sunday afternoon sun.

Gar glanced across the street and saw the subway was conveniently right there. He turned back to Raven, but she had gotten it out first.

"This was great, Gar. Thank you for lunch." He beamed at her.

"Sure, no big." She smiled at him and turned around when she felt his gloved hand on her arm.

"Hey, um, y'know, I'm headed back to the museum at around 8 for a meeting with Vic and… it'd be awful nice if you'd join me for dinner, as friendly colleagues of course. You know, I don't come here often and the singles booth isn't quite as fun as it sounds. What'dya say?"

"I don't really know. There's work to-" She looked at his face; he was giving her the most adorable puppy dog pout she had ever seen on a grown man. Who says men don't look hot pouting? In all honesty, she had already decided the moment he touched her arm. There was just something about him. He was different, definitely nothing like how Dick had been.

She smiled and gave in, "So, about nine o clock?"

He gave her the widest grin she had ever seen, "Nine's perfect. Nine's great." He kept talking as he walked away, walking backwards across the street, grinning like an idiot. A car honked at him as he bumped into one.

"Your office, nine o clock! Great, great. See you then."

She watched him bump into a car and shout apologies, look back at her and smile before he broke out into ajog across the street. She sighed and pulled up the hood on her jacket and began the short walk back to the museum.

* * *

**A/N: And this is where I've stopped writing for now. The next update may not be for a while depending on how busy I am. Hope you like it so far. **


	7. Got to Believe in Magic

**Author's Note: This chapter could double as a songfic, but I hate those, so its not. Anyways the song is Got To Believe by a Filippino band called Side A. This dinner date is in two parts cuz I want them to bond more. Those who've read Before Sunrise know I don't like to rush relationships. **

**O and for visuals, I've updated my profile so check those sites out. The actual restaurants I chose are beautiful and you should really check them out.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, the ROM or Monsoon.

* * *

**

Chapter 6 - Got To Believe In Magic

'Mr. Logan!' _Click_ 'A few words Garfield?' _Flash _'How bout a smile for the ladies Gar?' _Snap._

It was all uncomfortable. Endless questions, some not even pertaining to the exhibit. It was just a media field-day, a press conference with the unreachable, seldom interviewed eccentric millionaire Garfield Logan. Thank God it didn't have to last long. After an hour of the same, "Are you still single Mr. Logan?" and ,"Would you mind telling us about your past?" the media got fed up with his passive attitude and vague answers and left.

Now onto a different meeting with Vic Stone. Gar sighed as he waited at the Starbucks outside the museum. She had been on his mind all day. Ever since lunch his thoughts kept straying to, _Raven would have found that funny, _or, _Wonder what she's doing now?_ They had the most interesting talks, usually about nothing. Talking to her was refreshing, she was so different from him and it made for great conversation. And was she beautiful. _Gorgeous, really_, he thought. Her dark blue eyes were filled with such sorrow he found himself trying to make her laugh all the time.

_Why am I thinking like this? I've only known her for, what, 6 hours?_ Gar mentally shook himself as he saw Victor's large frame enter the café. He wore a long overcoat and a blue toque that accentuated his round head. He made his way to Gar and sat down.

"You're late."

"Shut it little man, I was tied up."

Gar raised a playful eyebrow, "By who? That security kitten? What was her name? Jinx?" Victor scowled at him and took of his toque.

"I'll have you know that we were busy laying out plans for your little exhibit," He went to the inside breast pocket of his coat and drew out papers, pushing them across the table towards Gar, "And don't lay that shit on me; I saw how you were looking at Raven Roth."

Gar chuckled and took the papers opening them, "How would you know? Far as I could tell your own eyes were a little… preoccupied." Gar read over the papers. All measurements and prices, shipment dates and costs. A normal person's eyes would have bugged out of their sockets, but this was just pocket change for one millionaire let alone two.

"You sure this is enough security?" Gar asked sarcastically, "Sure you don't want the Royal Guards in here too?" His eyes scanning the next few papers, blue prints, diagrams, layouts.

"Nah man, you hired me 'cuz you wanted the best security. This is as good as technology gets man. Ain't nobody gunna get in here without yours truly knowing."

"You? So you're gunna stay here the duration of the exhibit." Vic gave a cocky grin and leaned back on his chair, both had crossed behind his head.

"Best security money can buy ain't gadgets, its Victor 'Cyborg' Stone."

"Cyborg indeed, so what you not gunna sleep a wink 'til Cleopatra's back at the British Museum?"

"No, me and Jinx gunna take shifts."

Gar smirked again, "Any of 'em together?" Vic took his toque and threw it at him, hitting Gar square on the face. Gar playfully threw it back rubbing his nose. They both laughed for a while at their immaturity, then Vic leaned in, elbows on the table.

"So seriously man, you got a thing for Raven Roth?" Gar shrugged nonchalantly, _Heck YES!_

"I don't know man, she's really interesting and smart and-"

"Hot?" Gar grinned, biting his lower lip.

"And totally hot."

"Yeah, but. Does she like you?" Gar's eyes widened for a moment, he hadn't thought of that. Now his mind was racing with doubts. _What if she thinks I'm a clumsy freak? Well she _did_ say I was handsome. But she had to say that, she owes me so much…_

The thoughts went on as Vic waved a hand in front of Gar's face, "Yo! Hey! Hey Gar! You in there?"

Gar shook his head, "Yeah, sorry."

"Man, your tripping with stress. And the Cy man knows just how to help you relieve." Gar raised an eyebrow.

"How?"

"I got a Gamestation at my hotel," Vic waggled his eyebrows and Gar grinned. It had always been their pass time; it was actually how they'd met. Shopping for Gamestation games.

Gar got up and put on his jacket, "Lead the way Cy." Vic got up and laughed putting on his toque.

"Man, can you believe we're two grown men all excited about playing a video game?"

"Yeah, I guess some things just don't change."

* * *

Raven was awoken by a knocking at her door. She had dozed off looking over and approving moving contracts for the display cases. She looked up, eyes drooping, checking if there was drool on her face, and saw Gar leaning against the door way; a smug smirk plastered across his face. 

She cleared her throat,sat up and fixed her hair as he let himself in and sat down across from her.

"It's nine o' clock," he said as he crossed his legs, a fist over his mouth holding back laughter, watching her hurriedly fixing up the papers on her desk. She leered at him and let out a low growl which caused him to let out a fit of laughter. She stoically stood up, walked over to her coat tree, stopped at the door and turned to face him, an angry look on her face, jacket and scarf in hand.

"Not a word."

Gar got up, nearly keeling over trying to hold back more laughter. He bit his lips and followed suit.

"Wasn't gunna."

* * *

Murmurs of other conversations could be heard at the dimly lit romantic restaurant. Gar had chosen Monsoon, a Japanese restaurant with small Western influences. They had been given a two-seater table far from the crowd. The only light was that from beneath the walls behind them and the small halogen dangling light dead centre of their table. 

"If you think about it, I mean really think about it. Isn't _everyone_ our mother? I mean, yes, I know it sounds like some existential crap, you know like, 'everything is our mother,' blah blah blah. But really, everything around us has a hand in raising us. What we are now is just bits and pieces of everyone else," Gar was getting passionate. So much so that he ignored his fragrant pear, endive and organic miso tofu in green tea vinaigrette. It has sounded disgusting as he ordered it, but as it was brought to him, the presentation was so beautiful that it was hard to eat and ruin it. But now he was just so into what he was saying he forgot all about it, drawing Raven into his rant.

"As we get older, of course we have more of us built in and we're less likely to be swayed in our beliefs, but _as_ we grow, and really we never stop, we are so highly influenced by everyone and everything. Like, right now? What I'm saying to you is influencing you, whether you agree or not. If you do, great you'll live the rest of your life tucking this away in the back of your head somewhere and someday, someone may come to you. Somewhere off in the future, indulging you in their philosophies and what I'm saying will come up and having your own opinions you can decide to agree of disagree. Subconsciously what I'm saying is getting to you." Raven nodded understandingly. Oddly enough, she got what he just said. Doesn't mean she saw eye to eye, but she got it.

"Wow that was fairly deep." She looked at him impressed.

He chuckled, "Well, you hit the right nerve and I can get like that." She took a bite out of her monsoon king crab cakes with cucumber namasa and coconut aioli. The food here was really good. He watched as he took a sip of their Henry of Pelham wine, year 1989.

She swallowed and asked, "So, what are you like, a Buddhist monk or something?"

He laughed, "No, I just have very set moral values. That doesn't mean I can't have my fun." He waggled his eyebrows causing her to chortle.

"But do you live chastely and abstain and all that jazz?"

"I said I had set values, I'm no saint; far from it." He took a bite out of his food. _Wow, it is good._

"Really, how so?"

"Let's just say that something society would define as evil can be twisted so that it's not. Don't let my sugar-coated exterior deceive you." He raised an eyebrow suggestively.

She shrugged, "Yeah, I mean, we all have our little secrets right?"

"And then some."

"Well, from what I hear, Mr. Logan, you are a very set person."

"Set? He questioned, "And you are…"

"Not. Quite frankly, I respect what you're saying, but it's all total bull to me." As she said this she looked him straight in the eye. _Nothing but the brutal truth with her huh?_ He smiled and laughed.

"Don't get me wrong," she continued, "You had some valid points and all. But I raised myself, an individual, never relying on anyone." Sure I had family, not much but they were there and that's where it ended. Take my father for instance. He was always physically and financially there for me, but did he raise me? No."

Gar shook his head in disbelief, "You know what you sound like to me Ms. Roth?"

"Indulge me."

"You sound like a 100, bonefied, pure-bred pessimist."

"No, realist, there's a difference. I try not to believe that the world will end tomorrow, but I don't expect the impossible either. I don't believe in unicorns or fairies or-"

"Magic?"

"Magic."

"You don't believe in magic," he said in false astonishment that made Raven smile. He snapped his fingers and swung his arm in an 'aww-shucks' motion, "And here I was about to tell you that I was a descendant of Merlin."

"Is that a historical fact?"

"No, but if you believed in magic, you might've considered it was true."

"I like to believe in facts. Truth is, Gar, you can't live off of magic. Being a descendant of Merlin isn't gunna pay for this meal."

"If I was, I could've probably conjured us up dinner instead of taking you out. But then we would have missed this amazing conversation."

"That's fantasy, we're in reality."

He threw his hands up in defeat, "Fine, you win," then leaned in really close, "But like I said, you never stop growing. I'll make a believer out of you yet."

**

* * *

A/N: The next chapter will be heavy on the deep, insightful conversations. And then the real fun starts. All of these conversations are those I've had, either with friends or with myself (a bit schitzophrenic). It was fun writing all the dialogue cuz it was like talking to a flirty, male version of myself. I've been told I could argue two sides of a Mobius Strip.**

**Here's a quote I found that's a bit of a preview of the next chapter. In latinae (latin):**

**Cras amet qui nunquam amavit; Quique amavit, cras amet**

_May he love tomorrow who has never loved before; And may he who has loved, love tomorrow as well..._


	8. Talks of God and Love

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, the ROM or Monsoon.

* * *

**

"I was reading this book," she began, "By Margaret Atwood called Oryx and Crake." She picked at the vanilla bean cheesecake they decided to share. They had ordered one slice with two forks because she didn't think she could finish one on her own. So there they both sat, arms on the table, picking bits out if the slice, which _was_ pretty big, so close they could feel each other's breath.

He nodded, "Oh yeah, I've read that too."

"Good, well. It just made me think. Jimmy or Snowman, whatever you may call him, simply made up the Crakers' creation story. That's the part that hit me the hardest. Their God, Crake, was just an over glorified friend of their prophet, yet they took in everything he said and ate it. These creative synapses in a _person's_ mind begat their religion. And they would die having faith in that. It made me think that that is probably the basis for all belief systems today, just stories. Make believe, creative impulses in someone that needed a good story telling. You know the three most widespread religions are all just based on one another, all coming from the same creation story of 'God'? They all have the same stories in their respective Holy Books. Only, like you said, everyone interpreted it differently."

"So you don't believe in God." He wasn't all that surprised; he knew a lot of atheists despite himself being a devout Catholic. Many people trying to convince him otherwise but he always had his faith and always will. It's got him through in one piece so far.

"Which one?"

"Any one."

"No."

"Not even in a 'supreme being' figure?"

"No, I am a historian Gar. In history, countless civilizations have had their own belief systems, each of them swearing that theirs was the way, the truth, and the life. Many even died for it martyrs and so-called 'holy wars'. Not to mention human sacrifices to the gods. Even so far as to persecute heathens, non believers and sceptics. And is the end result worth it? What _is_ the end result?"

"But you have to recognize that religion stabilizes. For instance, take early European art, from the Renaissance. It was highly influenced by religion, not even necessarily their own either, Greek and Roman gods and goddesses and spread throughout. In ancient civilizations, moral code brought on by religion began a basis for laws. Religion gives people culture."

"Yes, but religion has also been their downfall. Take Egypt, Akhenaton was a hugely religious man, and it was that very trait, that flaw in their leader, that begat the downfall of not only Egyptian stability but of their entire civilization."

"But, I just don't understand atheism. You need something to ground you. There has to be something constant in your life."

"And there is; my work." He laughed at this. "No do _not_ laugh at me. You have your God, I have my work. As God will always be God, Egypt will always be Egypt. Consistent, reliable, unswerving, dependable and true."

"But everything can't possibly revolve around your work. I mean, what about relationships?" Slowly he's been trying to get this out of her, _Does she like me or not?_ He had his doubts and dealt with it the only way he knew how, shameless flirting.

"I never said everything revolved around my work, I said it kept me grounded. Relationships are a whole other ball of wax." She tried her best to stay away from this topic all night. Despite what they had agreed on, a friendly dinner among colleagues, she couldn't help but feel more. She was compelled to him and was afraid of it.

"So, what about relationships."

"What about them?"

"Are you in it for love or-"

"Ha! What is love?"

"Okay , okay. You don't believe in God, in magic, in fate. But you _have_ to believe in love."

"I don't _have_ to do anything, Garfield."

"Then, why do it at all? Why go through the tedious task of finding someone? Why go through the ritualistic dating scene if not for love?" _Why share this cake with me? Why be here at all? Why say yes?_

"Companionship, company. I don't believe in 'true love'. Unconditional, parental love I can understand… but 'true' love? Meeting someone, flying sparks, eyes meeting across a crowded room. It's all fairy tale crap."

"I think you're just sceptical because you haven't found the right person."

"And you have?"

"Well, no…"

"How many times have you thought that you were in love?"

"Um, a couple-" She cut him off, passionate bordering on anger.

"And how many times have you told those girls you loved them?"

"Uhh, quite a few-"

She smirked triumphantly, "And yet, you're not married. See? Everyone always says forever, it's all blown out of proportion. Forever never lasts. Let's talk reality here, if you want lovey-dovey romance, go turn on a TV."

"You sound like an old hag."

"Old hag?" It should have sounded insulting, but from him it was adorable. He was like a little boy failing to come up with a good come back.

"Yeah, old hag, heart broken and bitter." His eyes jokingly went to small slits, making her smile.

"No, realistic."

"Tell me something, _are_ you heart broken? Had there been someone there before who you let in but took your heart and ran away with it?"

"Tell you what, you answer your own question first then maybe I will."

"Okay, sounds fair. When I was 17, there was this girl Terra. She was great, I thought she was perfect. She had these sky blue eyes and long, natural blonde hair. She laughed at all my corny jokes and, you know, I thought I loved her and I thought she loved me. It went on for a good while. Even when there were rumours about me cheating on her, which I didn't, we stayed together." He stopped looking in her eyes; he now stared blankly at the half full wine glass to his right. His face that of sweet remembering.

"Sounds perfect, how'd it end?" She absently took another scrape of the cheesecake, now less than a quarter left. She was watching him intently. She felt his pain, she hurt that he had hurt. A stab in her heart, an all too familiar feeling. _How could anyone do that to him?_

"She cheated on me with some jock strap named Wilson. I dealt with it pretty bad. Kinda sulked, stayed away from people for a good while," he chucked sadly, "I was in such denial for the longest time, but eventually I got over it, over her. Moved on with my life." His eyes stayed on the now half empty wine glass, old memories haunting his mind.

"To 'love' another?"

"Yeah, to 'love' another," he looked up at her again, the playfulness returning to his eyes, "But at least I'm open to love."

"It's nothing but lust, infatuation. Most marriages end in divorce. Look at history. What brought great men and women down? Their spouses. After physical attraction wears off, what do you have?"

"Ever heard, 'Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks'?" He smiled at himself, proud of the fact that he had remembered that.

"Yes, Shakespeare."

"Okay, quid pro quo. You didn't answer my question."

"What question?"

"Oh come on. I showed you mine now show me yours." He smiled at his own immaturity.

"In case you forgot, I said _maybe_."

"Come on Rae," he whined.

"Fine, only if you never call me 'Rae' ever again," she paused then began again, "I was pretty young too. Teenage love and all that. Well I met this guy, Malchior. He seemed like the perfect gentleman, British and so smart. We could talk about books, politics, whatever, all day. He was really tall with these incredible steel blue eyes…" She drifted off in memory before snapping back to reality. He watched her eyes now, unlike his her stare hadn't wavered, she didn't look away. A part of him wished she had, because despite her cold exterior and strong façade, he saw the fragile girl beneath it all. Through her eyes, her beautiful eyes that revealed what she so sought to hide.

"But then I found out he was just using me to make his ex jealous. I was so naïve, he called me beautiful and-" _How could anyone do that to her?_

"But you _are_ beautiful Rae-ven," he quickly save himself from the mistake.

"Well thank you," she let herself show the blush, "But I'm still not convinced."

"You'll find someone someday. And he'll show you fairy tales can come true."

She poked the fork topped with cheesecake at him, "That's a very cheesy line."

He shrugged, pretending not to hear her, "I don't know, maybe you'll be walking and just accidentally bump into the right guy," he began to smile, "And he'll ask you to lunch, then afterwards dinner. And you'll fall in love and live happily ever after."

Raven rolled her eyes at the obvious innuendo and countered with her own clichéd line, "Yeah, when hell freezes over."

* * *

A figure loomed over the Toronto skyline. The sun was long gone, and so were the people within the ROM. The figure crouched atop the Toronto Parkway Hyatt Hotel overlooking the Crystal.

Powerful spotlights illuminated its face like a toy on a pedestal, mocking him. It made anyone walking within the immediate vicinity glow with eerie white light. He watched as a small figure of a woman exited the front doors, the locks clicking behind her. The sound would have been inaudible to normal ears but his, fine tuned to hear such intricacies, perked up like a dog's, his eyes spotting every motion of the door. He eyed the small woman, petite, Caucasian, blonde hair peeking from beneath her hat.

He took out a small box, almost remote control like but with a single glowing red switch. His eyes danced with mischief as he flipped the switch and…

Beneath a set display case, hidden behind a leg, a small disk began to glow. A tiny red 'X' on its face.

* * *

The air outside was brisk, but not freezing. A man and woman walked side by side, her arms folded over her chest, his hands in his pocket. They were talking and laughing, occasionally playfully bumping each other. As they approached a building, she turned to him.

"You know you didn't have to walk me to my door."

He shrugged, "Well, it was only two stations away from mine and it's not like I'm short on bus fare. I bought a day pass." It wasn't a lie, nor was it exactly true. It was somewhat out of his way and quite a walk from his hotel, not to mention the streetcars stop working at 10:30.

She nodded, "O well that's convenient."

"Isn't it?" They kept walking and stopped outside an old building. Gar opened the door and ushered Raven in.

"Well this is my place." She searched her pockets for her entrance card. Finding it she kept her hands in her pocket.

"Wow, nice building. I guess museum work pays off huh?" He took off his gloves and turned, taking in a 360 of the lobby. It was nicely finished, with aqua painted walls and the glass was ribbed, all giving the impression of being beneath the water.

"Not really, I make enough to get by." He turned to her and they stood face to face, toes touching. Ignoring the obvious whirr of the security camera, they stared at each other.

"You know, I have flight headed back to Chicago tomorrow, there's business to attend to. Then I'll be all over the place making arrangements for the exhibit. And finally, I'm headed to London to accompany the artefacts here." He never took her eyes off her.

"Must he nice to go anywhere on a whim huh?" She smiled, melting away at his heart.

He brought his face closer, "No, I don't get to stay long enough to really enjoy anything…" A moment passed then unexpectedly he pulled back; suddenly aware of their closeness he placed a nervous hand behind his head. She nearly sighed at his recoil.

"But I'll be back in Toronto in about a month. And… I was wondering… if you weren't too busy, if you'd like to join me again." She raised an eyebrow and took a step towards him, closing the gap that he had made before.

She tilted her head up, presenting a challenger, "As friendly colleagues?"

He met her challenge, regaining confidence. He brought his face to hers, lips a hair's width apart, "No, as a date."

She smiled up at him, "I think I'd like that." He grinned mischievously and pulled back, putting his gloves hack on. Opening the door he left a shocked Raven standing, blushing furiously at her boldness. She stood there, not turning her head as she heard the front doors open and close, then open again.

His head peeked in and with the same grin called to her, "Good bye Raven." She slowly turned her head, embarrassed, gave him a weak smile and raised a hand goodbye.

* * *

**A/N: I was totally blocked for a while, but now I've regained my muse and started writing. First glance at theivery in this chapter, more to come...**


	9. In Two Weeks Time

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, the British Museum or the ROM.**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 8 - In Two Weeks Time

A slim, black figure slipped into the room silently. A man, so nimble and agile his footsteps could not be heard. His face covered with a mask. His gloved hand turned the doorknob and entered the room adjacent.

"Where have you been?" The voice came from behind a back-turned chair, loud and booming.

"Around." The thief shrugged, leaned his shoulder against a wall, defiantly crossing his arms and legs.

"You were to see me 2 hours ago; I don't like to be kept waiting." The voice was altered, the thief could tell, whoever was behind the tall back of the chair did not want to be known.

"Chill, besides, I come bearing gifts." The thief reached into the pouch slung over his shoulder and brought out a series of folded papers and pushed it across the desk that divided them.

"Hmmm, yes, an offering to the gods." An arm jutted out from the side of the chair, full-length sleeved, hands gloved, and grabbed the papers on the desk, the chair never faltering.

"I think you'd like this." The thief heard the shuffling of papers and slight, maniacal chuckles.

"Yes, yes. Well done, Kinyago."

"Good, then can I leave? This whole creepy meeting at night thing isn't exactly my scene." His voice was bold and joking, as if he didn't care how powerful the man behind the chair was. He got off the wall and had begun to head out when the voice called back.

"Remember our deal, don't fuck this up."

* * *

The papers just kept coming. Raven sighed and she signed another form and placed it on the output pile, sullenly she glanced at the input pile. _Twice as high as the fucking output. Dammit when is this all going to end?_ She leered as she drew out another from the input and read through it. This one had come directly from the director at the British Museum. 

_Security measures blah blah blah. Insurance policies blah blah. Contract agreements blah. _Her eyes scanned down the page and saw two signatures already at the bottom, both in faded black due to the fax machine: Richard Grayson and Garfield Logan. Dick's signature had been in long, slim letters and curved at the ends, elegant and refined. Gar's on the other hand was the complete opposite, his letters were short and fat, the G in Gar had gone around the entire name, it came off as jovial, almost like a child's signature. Raven smiled at the difference in the two signatures, amazed at how one signs a paper can define so much of their character. Like Dick and Gar themselves, their signatures were at opposite sides of the spectrum.

A blank line with an x awaited her signature below Gar's. Her own signature had grown messy and illegible over the many years and many contracts. She paused, pen poised over the paper and elegantly signed her own name, not her usual chicken scratch, but the nice formal signature she saved for public documents. The R's intertwined beneath her name, the end of the H coming over the top to cross the T. She pulled back, lookedat her handiwork and smiled, her other hand fingering the edge of the paper. She put the pen down and lightly ran her fingers over Gar's name.Raven caught herself mid act and scolded herself.

As she turned the paper over to place it in the output pile, she noticed a small green post-it attached to the back. Raven saw Kori's familiar writing and read:

Can't wait to see you…

Two weeks cannot go by any slower.

G.L.

Her smile widened as she realised whom the note was from and she blushed realising Kori now knows. She removed the post it, opened her drawer and stuck it in her black notebook. As she closed the drawer, turning back to her work, she sighed. _Any slower indeed._

_

* * *

_

Gar watched as the rain fell and splattered against the window. The current state of the weather confirmed the myth; it was always raining in London. Behind him, Victor and Dick were consolidating with the director of the British Museum. They had just gotten him to sign the transport approval of artefacts to Toronto and immediately faxed it to Raven and the ROM. Now they were reassuring him that all safety precautions were going to be taken to insure the security of the artefacts during transport. He should have been there right along with them talking to the old man, but his mindwas still in Toronto.

He smiled and thought; _Wonder if she got my little message._ The woman had been on his mind for the past two weeks. As he attended to business at Chicago and the entire duration of his stay at London, she was constantly in his mind. Her and what he had denied her the last time he saw her. He certainlysaw the anticipation in her eyes as she had leaned up to him but he, always the flirt, _had _to pull back, denying _himself _and herof the pleasure. Now he regretted it, finding himself thinking of how she good would taste or how her lips would feel against his. Like now…

"Garfield! Come here," the voice of Victor snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned around, a mask of questioning on his face hiding what he was just thinking.

"Yeah?"

"We're leaving, come on." Dick was already out the door, Vic stood at the doorway jacket and hat in hand. Gar rushed over to the coat rack, snatched his coat and nodded to the director in a goodbye. The director smiled back and he headed out the door.

Garfield hurried to Vic side.

"You were thinking about her again weren't you?" Gar smiled up at the smirk on Vic's face.

"Yeah."

Vic chuckled, "Man, you got it bad."

"No." His quick response only made Vic laugh again.

"And brotha, you're swimmin' in that river alone." Gar swayed his head side to side in mock laughter. _Ha ha, the Nile, I get it._

"Well what about you? Don't tell me you haven't thought about Jinx _once_ since we got here."

"Man, there's a difference, I just _came_ from Toronto and I'm headed back tomorrow. You got another two agonizing weeks ahead of you."

Gar sighed knowingly, "I know." Vic laughed again and rubbed his head as one would do with a child. They stood inside the doors leading to the streets.

"Don't worry man; two weeks will go by like that." He snapped his fingers for added effect as Gar pulled up the lapel of his coat, bracing himself for the onslaught of rain.

* * *

A dark figure was hunched over a coffee table of papers. Profiles, cut out newspaper articles, blueprints, stats. Everything. The figure went underneath the table and pulled out a manila envelope, inside were _her_ statistics. everything about her, from what time she wakes up in the morning to how she took her coffee on the morning. A person's life in 20 pages, soup to nuts.

He emptied the remaining contents of the folder on the table, candid pictures of her. Her walking down the street, buying a croissant in the morning, even her on the phone in her office. He out a black felt tip marker and drew a circle around her face, beside it he wrote:

**THREAT** : to be eradicated

* * *

**A/N: **


	10. In the Still of the Night

**Author's Note: Everything is not always as it may seem. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or the ROM.

* * *

**

**Chapter 10 - In the Still of the Night**

The time was 12:45. Twelve forty five at night. Raven looked at the clock above her door in her office, then she glanced at the desk clock just to make sure. Yep. Twelve forty six now. It was late, damn late. Later than she dared stay at the museum, the dark city streets were not safe now. The hooded thugs and crooked cops confirmed that this truly was the most dangerous city in Canada. Yet she was still at the heart of it at 12:46.

She sighed and put the paper work away. She opened her drawer and stared at small slip of paper, a green post-it note. She smiled as she remembered his face. _It's nearly been two weeks. He didn't really give me a specific date when he'd get back. God; time goes by so slowly when you're anxious._

Dick had been back already along with the first instalment of the exhibit. Just minor stuff like amulets, daggers, not so valuable jewellery, pottery etc. It had only taken her 3 days to unpack everything and place them in their proper aesthetic settings, with the help of contracted workers of course. All under the watching eyes of Victor and Jinx.

About a few days after Garfield left, Victor had all of the security equipment shipped in and they had installed it in about a week. The place was now as secure as ever. Cameras watching her where ever she went, sensors detecting her every move, it was enough to make her completely paranoid. She tried to take her mind off of it by thinking about Jinx and Victor. They had grown closer in the past few weeks, _very_ close.

They both went on flirting like hormonal teenagers for a while until Jinx gave in, al ways the strong woman, and asked him out. Raven had been in the room at the time, enjoying herself watching the obvious connection between the two. The sexual tension had gotten so thick you could cut it with a knife and Jinx had had enough. She suddenly turned around, rested her hands on his shoulders and pecked him on the cheek, asking him in a sultry whisper if he would like to join her for dinner that evening. A stunned Victor was speechless and could only respond by dumbly nodding his head as he did the first time they met.

Raven chuckled at the memory. It brought her eyes back down to the post-it. She had failed to get him out her mind yet again. Closing the drawer, she got up and decided to walk around the set exhibits on the third floor.

She walked out the door to be greeted by near absolute darkness. She walked over to the communications/security workroom next door and found no one. _Hmmm, this is odd; one of them should be here._ Remembering that it was Victor's shift, Raven decided that he must have gotten a bite to eat and would be back soon.

She continued down towards the wing, heels clicking on the limestone floor. The lights above her completely gone as she entered the wing, dimmed lights from the display cases scattered about in front of her. She was currently what would be the East Asia showroom. As she passed each display she stopped to glance at the artistry and marvel at the beauty of each piece.

Then she heard it; indistinct murmuring ahead of her. She suddenly froze in fear, her mind not being able to comprehend the situation. At the same time, she felt an anger rise within her, how dare someone break into _her_ exhibit. Growing curiosity ate away at her as she crept towards the voices, then suddenly they stopped. She heard the heavy footsteps of someone approaching and she hid in the shadows. The footsteps passed her way. Silence, then the sounds of someone hurriedly stuffing things into a bag. The clang and clatter of the pieces being recklessly thrown about nearly brought tears to her eyes, the anger within her threatening to be released.

She rose from her hiding place and instinctively began to walk towards the sounds she heard. Hearing the sounds of heels clicking against the floor, the thief stopped his movements and stared at her direction. She froze, the fear suppressing her anger. Then she panicked and began to side step, her hands trying desperately to find a wall. The thief by now had gotten up to investigate the noises and stalked in her direction.

Raven shut her eyes tightly as she continued shuffling along, trying to make as little sound as possible. Her hand caught a metal railing and she immediately knew where she was, the Spirit Room. The room which was meant to be constantly lit was now, thankfully, enveloped in darkness. Her hand ran along the railing guiding her, her steps slightly audible.

Suddenly a hand wrapped around her mouth, a strong arm bound around her waist. She tried to kick but the strong grasp of the man lifted her off her feet. She felt him stop and lean against a wall. She felt his breath on the side of her face quietly shushing her. When she fought, his grip tightened and she felt her back being pressed against his hard body, the tools around his waist digging into her thighs. The muscles in his arms flexing, threatening her to stay quiet. She was too afraid, too afraid to fight, too afraid to scream. Too afraid to breathe. They both stood stark still, he seemed to be listening for something. When what ever it was, was gone, he whispered into her ear.

"Stay quiet. I'm not going to hurt you." She fought back a bit and he simply tightened his grip and she stopped. She hated the control he had over her.

"Now, now, don't fight. I said I'm not going to hurt you. Now listen carefully, I'm going to loosen my grip, but you don't make a sound or try to fight or run. Got it?" She hated being talked down to, but nonetheless, she nodded obediently. She felt the tight hold he had on her loosen as she stepped away from him, but not much since his arms were still wrapped around her.

"Who-" she began but he quickly stopped her, putting a hand to her mouth again. She hadn't realised her voice had gone back to normal.

"Quiet now. You wouldn't want him to find you." She felt a swift jerk of his head, indicating back to the room. She stopped and heard the rustling of another man in the exhibit rooms. She stifled a gasp as she realised there were two of them.

"Now, you were going to ask who I was," his voice was still unrecognizable due to the hushed whisper, "I go by many names, but you can call me, Kinyago."

* * *

**A/N: Finally some action. I had so much fun writing this scene, I theft. Okay that sounded wrong, I love the sophistication of hiests. I know that real heists aren't always to meticulously planned, but this is fun. I'll explain later how they got in.**


	11. Kinyago

**Author's Note: Hehe, immediate continuation. I like this better than the 1st part just cuz its more romantic. I fucked up the title of the last one, it was supposed to be Chapter 9 not 10.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or the ROM.

* * *

**

Chapter 10 - Kinyago

_Kinyago? The art thief?_ Raven's mind began to reel. Kinyago was an infamous art thief, best known for playing practical jokes on the museums and private collections he robbed. He occasionally switched painting from one museum to another, stealing a piece from the National Art Gallery one night, another from the Metropolitan Museum the next and on the third each piece could be found at the other. He was also known for his rat-pack technique, once he had stolen Vermeer's famous _View from the Delft_ from a private collection and replaced it with a child's painting of windmills, mocking the artist Dutch origins. Despite his numerous legendary scores, the police have had no clue to who he might be. Furthermore, He always returned whatever he stole, the newspapers dubbing him Kinyago: The Good Thief. Kinyago being the Swahili word for Joker.

Kinyago felt her sharp intake of breath and smiled in his mask. They both remained silent and heard receding footsteps in the other room. He continued to whisper in her ear.

"So I take it you've heard of me?"

"You're the art thief…" she said in a whisper, the magnitude of the situation still had her shocked. _He wouldn't hurt me; he's never hurt anyone in the past._

"That's right beautiful," his hand around her waist receded to his utility belt, "And you have gotten in my way." Raven flinched as he brought back his hand and caught her wrist with a handcuff. He quickly spun her around to face him and attached the other end to her other wrist. He brought her out from the darkness of the Spirit Room and into the dimly lit exhibition hall.

"You've been quite a good girl, nice and cooperative." He sat her down on the floor and took out another set of cuffs, attaching them to the ones around her wrists. Then somehow, he managed to lift her off her feet and wing the arms underneath her so she was cuffed from behind and attached the other open end of the cuffs to the leg of a display case. She saw his figure crouch on his heels in front of her, well out of reach for her to kick.

He was of medium build, not exactly muscled, but the strength was there. He was dressed in all black save for his utility belt which was grey. His mask was black also, but instead of holes for eyes, there was white gossamer concealing them.

"You're not going to get away with this you know."

"Oh? And who's gunna stop me? You?" He chuckled a bit, "Relay will you? I already told you, I'm not going to hurt you." Something in his voice made her trust him, but she still wanted blood.

"I don't deal with thieves," she bit hack venomously.

Kinyago chuckled and replied, "What do you think you're doing right now, gorgeous?" He crept towards her, she tried to swiftly kick him but he caught both her legs and chuckled. She looked down in horror as she saw her skirt beginning to ride up her thigh, his gloved hand making its way up her leg. Then, unexpectedly, he pulled the hem of her skirt down back to her knees. She felt his invisible eyes on her face, knowing she must have had a look of relief and surprise.

Then he got up and went into a display case that had been smashed open previously. She watched as his hand went in and he brought out a necklace, she recognized immediately, a menat. A menat, the Egyptian symbol for the goddess Hathor, the drunken goddess of fun, pleasure and love. It was a beaded necklace, a crescent moon at the front and a counterweight that looked like an upside-down keyhole in the back. He walked back to her and brought the necklace to her neck and craned his head back, as if he were her husband making her try out jewellery.

"The lapis lazuli really brings out your eyes." _Is he flirting with me? He has the balls to break into my museum and flirt with me?_

Then he pulled back and slipped the necklace into a pouch in his belt.

"Do you really think that I am just going to sit here and watch you rob my museum?" He chuckled again, something about his voice reminded her of someone, she wasn't quite sure who.

He stood and said, "I already have," and began to walk away.

"Wait!" she called to him, not sure why. She saw his figure over her head, leaning his side against the side of the display case she was attached to.

"Why?"

"You can't just leave me here?"

"I believe I was just about to." Her mind worked fast, trying to think of something so she could learn more about him other than his build and obvious flirty nature.

"Th-the ground is cold." _The _ground is cold_? You're being held hostage by a famous art thief and the best you can come up with is 'the ground is cold'?_ She heard him chuckle once again.

"I don't find this amusing." She was grateful that he was behind her and couldn't see the blush in her face from her stupidity. She heard him walk away and not come back. She sighed in defeat when suddenly, from the other side, she felt strong hands lift her waist and slip a pillow underneath her bum. It was the pillows they used to cushion some of the more delicate pieces. She turned her head and came inches away from his face. His mask was now rolled up to just below his nose. Suddenly, he forcefully pressed his lips against her in a quick, heated kiss.

Then he pulled back, rolled down his mask again and murmured, "Bye beautiful," and walked away. Raven made sure he was completely gone before she screamed at the top of her lungs and struggled against the hand cuffs, kicking and jerking. She desperately tried slip out of the cuffs but it was no use. She silently curse herself, she cursed the thieves, she cursed for staying up late, she cursed for demanding that the display cases be bolted to the ground. Finally she cursed Kinyago and his kiss.

* * *

Victor awoke on the floor next to the candy machine. His head throbbed in pain, his hand feeling a large bump in the back of his head. _O shit,_ he thought groggily trying to get up. He saw double and tried to shake it. When the dizziness receded, he remembered the exhibit and sprinted back to the communications control room. 

The door was still locked and he fumbled with his keys trying to find the right one. Finding the proper key he ran inside, his eyes widened and he hit his palm against his forehead. He quickly sat down and typed in an alert to the police, his eyes never leaving the camera monitor. _O fuck!_

_

* * *

_**A/N: Thieves are fucking sexy man.**


	12. Aftermath

**Author's Note: Wow, cool reviews thanks for the support. The stolen peices are mine though, but it would be wise to look up on their meanings and hinnden hints. I NEVER write anything just because it sounds pretty. Take every little detail into consideration beofre drawing conlusions.**

**As for my portrayal of Gar as a deep thinker, this Beast Boy is more on the comic Beast Boy, he's far more intelligent there. And Dick, well I just plain don't like him. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans orINTERPOL.

* * *

**

Chapter 11 - Aftermath

Raven sat in her office, a blanket around her shoulders and coffee in her hand. It was 3 in the morning and the museum was alive and buzzing. There were a ton of people in her office all making a commotion but Raven just sat there and stared off to space. Victor was there, getting an earful from a very tire very angry Jinx. Regardless of the fact that she was significantly smaller than him, his eyes read fear.

The local police had interrogated her already, despite Jinx protests that she needed her rest, asking her all the usual questions: "How many of them were there?" "Did you see their faces?" "How tall were they?" "Did you recognize their voices?" "Did they harm you?" They then thanked her for her cooperation and told her they'd be doing the best they could.

She sat there quietly in deep thought, she heard Jinx scream at Victor about "How traumatized the poor girl looked." But quite frankly, she wasn't at all distraught, she was more in shock, not of the robbery but of one particularly bold thief.

Just then, the door burst open and two people came barging in. The first was a tall African-American woman; she wore a no-nonsense suit with a long jacket over, all in business black. Her hair was in two buns on either side of her head. The second was man with fiery red hair cut so short it seemed to be painted on his head, the front in a straight line across his forehead. He wore a grey suit and a brown trench coat, sun glasses were pushed up on his head.

"Okay people, she's our now. That means out!" Raven wondered what the woman meant when she said 'ours'. Reluctantly, everyone trudged out of the room, the last to leave was Jinx followed by Victor.

The woman raised an eye brow at Victor and said, "Well, well if it isn't Vic Stone," she winked at him, "How've ya been holding up Sparky?" Jinx's ears perked up and she quickly spun around to glare at Victor. _Sparky, _she thought, _that's _my_ nickname for him._

Victor's eyes bulged, "Hey Bee, uhh… I gotta go." He blushed and pushed an angry, well angrier, looking Jinx out the door and shut it behind him. Shouting erupted as soon as the door closed and the woman snickered. Then she turned her attention to Raven.

"Hello Ms. Roth," she stuck her hand out and Shook Raven's hand, "I'm Karen Beecher and this is Roy Harper." The man nodded in greeting. "We're from INTERPOL."

Raven stared at her. _INTERPOL? What's INTERPOLdoing here? This isn't that big a deal is it?_

"We work in the division of Stolen Works of Art and were here to ask you a few questions so your cooperation is greatly appreciated." Karen sat down in a chair across from her and crossed he legs while Roy stood behind her, hands together in front of him, like a bodyguard. She seemed to be in charge from as far as Raven could see.

"Now, you might be wondering _why_ in hell Interpol is involved. You see Ms. Roth," She leaned in, her eyes tired and fatigued, "We've been after this bastard for a long time."

"Kinyago?" Karen swayed her head side to side in a yes-and-no gesture.

"Well him and his counterpart," she quickly changed the subject, "It has come to our attention that the thieves took several pieces but only made away with two." She took a notepad from her jacket pocket and flipped through it reading, "One gold, lapis lazuli beaded menat and… a gold gilded dagger engraved with the symbols of Onuris."

Raven's eyebrows rose, this was all new to her. She had heard the thieves stuffing their bags with artefacts; she was all of the broken display cases. Why go through all of that only for two things.

"Where was everything else?"

"We found a bag full of artefacts outside of your office just before you came in," Karen drew out a stack Polaroid pictures form her pocket and handed them to Raven. She took then and glanced at them. All of the stolen items were there, placed in boxes filled with soft red wax to preserve each piece. Some one had gone through the all the work of breaking into the ROM, which is a currently a stronghold, putting the pieces in safe boxes, hauling them away and just leaving them at her door. _At my door, like an offering. They're toying with me._

Karen watched as confusion crept across the girl's face. She sighed then leaned in, resting both her hands on the table face down. They called to Raven, _trust me._ Raven looked up from the pictures and met Karen's sympathetic eyes.

"Ms Roth at this point, we fear for your safety." _My safety? Why?_

"Why? I just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time?"

Karen shook her head, "Dear, it's not a coincidence they broke in while you were still here. Neither is it a coincidence that the stolen artefacts just happened to be dropped off in front if your office. And you said so yourself," she read from the notepad again, "that they were 'very kind to you?' We just want to keep you safe Ms Roth."

"But, Kinyago, he's a good thief right? He's never even so much as hurt anyone as far as I've heard."

At this point, Roy decided to step in and spoke up, "Ma'am, it's not him we're worried about."

Suddenly, yelling could be heard outside and Dick barged in. He looked frazzled; his hair was messed up, his shirt tucked in wrong. He wore jeans and a white t-shirt, his tartan pyjama pants could be seen sticking out of his waist and the bottom of his pants. His long overcoat looked thrown on the way the sleeves of the shirt bunched up around his shoulders. He looked angry.

"Raven! O God, what happened?" He quickly rushed to her side and crouched beside her, one hand on hers the other arm around her shoulders gripping her in a hug.

"Dick, its okay. I'm fine."

"We-well, are you hurt? Are you okay? Do you need anythi-" Dick was cut off my Karen standing up and clearing her throat.

"Hello Mr. Grayson, I'm Karen Beecher and this is my partner Roy Harper. We're from INTERPOL." Karen's hand was stuck out ready for a hand shake. Dick slowly got up and reluctantly shook her hand, his eyebrow was raised critically. His other arm was still protectively thrown around Raven's shoulder.

"What interests does INTERPOLhave with this matter?" His eyes were small, sceptical slits.

"We're after the theiv-"

"Isn't that a matter for the local police?"

"Yes Mr. Grayson, but these thieves are not your run-of-the-mill criminals, these are professional art thieves that have eluded our-"

"If they've eluded you so many times, what makes you think you'll catch them this time?" His response made Raven look up at him. _What the hell kinda question was that?_

"The things is sir-" Dick interrupted her again and Karen was getting angry, she wasn't used to people undermining her authority, even spoiled pretty rich boys.

"The thing, _Miss _Beecher, is that you are here interrogating a distraught young woman in the dead of night who has just gone through an unimaginably horrifying experience. I suggest that you return at a reasonable hour to resume your questioning."

Roy put a hand on Karen's shoulder seeing the fire in her eyes, "Yes Mr. Grayson we'll do just that. But as for Ms. Roth's safety…"

"_I_ will mare sure that she is well taken care of. Thank you officer." With that Roy's grip on Karen's shoulder tightened as she smiled politely at Dick. He spun Karen around and practically shoved her out the door.

Dick turned his attention back to Raven, "I'm sorry you had to see that, you just have to know how to deal with these over important cops." She nodded her head, not understanding but not wanting to mess with Dick.

"Now Raven, I told them that I would take care of you and I will. That is if you don't mind spending the night with me." Her eyes shot up at him.

"No! Not like that, I'm staying at the Four Seasons and I have a suite," he raised up two fingers and wiggled them, smiling at her, "two _separate_ rooms." Raven smiled politely and got up, throwing her arms around him.

She whispered, "Dick, thank you."

He smiled against her hair, glad to have her in his arms again, "You're welcome Raven; it's going to be alright."

* * *

Kinyago played with the menat in his hands, weaving the strands of lapis lazuli bead through his fingers. They reminded him of her. He smiled at the memory when the door burst open. 

Another figure in black stormed in. He marked right up to Kinyago and took his throat in one hand, squeezing tight. Kinyago let go of the menat and tried to pry the hand from his neck.

"What the FUCK?"

"I told you not to touch her. I TOLD YOU NOT TO _TOUCH_ HER!" His voice was still masked, "And now… NOW WHAT? The police are all over her. Why? Because they have a witness," He leaned in close; Kinyago felt his hot breath against the fabric of his mask.

"If I go down, you're fucking coming to hell with me. Got it?" The man shoved him against the chair and let go. Kinyago fell forward, clutching his neck, coughing and hacking.

The man turned around, rolled up his mask and placed a cigarette in his mouth. With a small, silver lighter he lit it, taking a long drag and slowly blowing the smoke out on front of him.

"And get the fuck out of my chair."

* * *

**A/N: These two scenes are somewhat parallel to each other. The second scene with in the timeframe of where the last chapter left off and where this one began, I just thought writing it this way made it more suspenseful. **

**INTERPOL does actually exist you can find the link to their Stolen Works of Art website in my profile. As for Onuris, he's the Egyptian God of war. And if you didn't get it, Karen Beecher is Bumblebee's real name and Roy Harper is Arsenal's (Speedy). **


	13. ReLiving Past Mistakes

**Author's Note: I absolutely romanticize the idea of theivery. I've readcountless books, novels, scripts, watched movies anddocumentaries onsubject and I may have taken a few ideas from them. Like Kinyago's rat-pack style was taken from Robert MacDougal in Entrapment. The idea of the museum curator getting caught with the theives was from the novel Once a Thief by Kay Hooper. Mind you I'm not completely plagarizing, just elaborating on ideas. **

**I may not update all the time, just a heads up. Since I took the burden upon myself of writing a sequel to Before Sunrise, I have to stick to my commitments and write it. Writing is (hypothetically) "like pulling teeth... out of my balls." I forget who said that but it's funny. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or the ROM.

* * *

**

Chapter 12 - Re-Living Past Mistakes

Raven sat in the back of Dick's limo, he was beside her and held her hand tight in his own. He had begun to fall asleep, his head propped up and his arm against the car door. Raven looked at him, I mean really looked at him. _Wow, he's out like a light, musta had a busy day, he's so tired. He's so adorable when he's asleep. _She shook herself out of the thoughts. _Raven; snap out of it, you're seeing Gar. And plus _you_ dumped _him,_ remember?_ Something in the back of her head snapped back, _Technically, you haven't actually gone out with Gar. And besides, he's sorry. Just look at him, he's so sweet._

Raven continued to stare at Dick without really paying attention to him; she didn't notice him wake up. He smiled at her and squeezed her hand gently.

"Don't worry Raven, you'll be safe with me." She nodded her head and instinctively leaned her head on his shoulders, remembering the time before everything went down the toilet in terms of their relationship. They had just come back from her loft to pick up clothes for the next night while she stayed with Dick at his suite. He placed his other arm around her shoulders bringing comforting warmth.

After a while he whispered in her ear, "We're here." She looked out the window as the limo pulled up to the semicircular driveway of the Four Seasons Hotel. The door was automatically opened by the valet and Dick was ushered out. Not once letting go of Raven's hand, she saw him slip quite a large tip in the valet boy's hand, giving him a slight nod, and then rubbed his head.

* * *

Vic and Jinx were in the control room. Everyone had left, including the cops, but being the security freaks they both were, they decided to stay and figure out what went wrong. Jinx stood behind Vic, leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the room. All of the stations monitors were fuzzy and she watched as Vic typed furiously into a computer.

"So, Mr. _Big-shot_ security man? What now?" She had her arms crossed on her chest and she was kissing her teeth. She was obviously mad but Victor couldn't tell whether it was because of the heist or because of Bee. He gave and exasperated sigh and spun around on his chair his arms out on his sides.

"What do you want from me woman? She pushed herself off the wall and walked towards him.

"Who the hell was she?" He sighed and rubbed his bald head, he knew this was coming, "Well? _Sparky_?"

"Listen, she was an old ex. _Old _ex. We met when I was securing one of their traps in French Riviera. But it's over, trust me."

"Raven trusted you with security and look where that got her."

"About that, come here look." She hesitantly walked to peer over his shoulder at the computer monitor.

"See," he pointed at the screen, it was a frozen image of the gallery with a dark blur in the bottom corner, "This was a camera well out of the way. They didn't expect to even come into range of this one."

"But how did they avoid all of the others?" Victor smiled at himself before her typed again, the screen now revealed another part of the wing. Everything was dormant until the screen went through some static.

"Did'ja see that? They freeze framed the cameras. That mean-"

"That means they interfered with the connection somehow."

He nodded his head, "And the only places we put the connections through were…"

"In the vents of this level, so that nobody could cut it off from the outside. But wait, how'd they not trigger the alarms." Victor blushed, scratched his chin and mumbled something into his hand.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"They intercepted the infrared signals."

Jinx smirked and cupped her hand to her ear, "And _whose_ bright idea was it to make the connection via-infrared?" Victor mumbles something again, turning his head away. Jinx simply cleared her throat.

"It was mine okay."

She smiled contentedly then frowned again, shaking her head, "It's still your fault…"

Jinx smacked the back of his bald head and walked away, "And I'm still mad at you."

* * *

His suite was indeed luxurious, Raven stood by the fireplace, tightly hugging her jacket around her shoulders. She fire was going wit the flick of a switch and she stood there watching the flames dance and crackle against the faux wood.

Dick came up behind her and, feeling her wince, whispered in her ear, "Relax, it's just us. Let me take your jacket and I'll show you to your room." She let him slip the jacket of, taker her hand and guide her down the hallway. He stopped to throw her jacket in the closet and made their way to her room.

He gently led her into her room, a beautifully decorated room. It was understated with a large king sized bed and a writing desk and chair. Modern art adorned the walls and a magnificent view of Lake Ontario could be seen from her window. She turned around to see Dick leaned against her doorframe, his eyes drooping. His usually neat jet black hair falling over his face. Raven noticed that he had taken the jeans off and was now only wearing his tartan pyjama pants and a white shirt. She sighed and walked up to him, hugging him again.

"Thank you Dick."

"It's alright Raven, nobody deserves to go through something like that. Nobody, especially not you. I'd never let anything happen to you, remember that."

She looked up at him; arms still wrapped around his neck and kissed him. She, for the love of her, did not know why. It was just, she was in shock and he was there and… He deepened the kiss as his own arms held her around the waist. _Oh God, what am I doing? Pull away, pull away._ But she couldn't, the little voice behind her head telling her to shut up and just enjoy the moment. As much as she didn't want to, she did. She had been so lonely for so long, it was hard not to.

Dick kissed her fiercely, urgently, and then lifted her off her feet. She unwillingly complied and wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her to her bed but not before closing the door behind him.

* * *

**A/N: I'm not a huge fan of RobxRae, but I'm not a writer who is completely biased. I have to use them for the story, to keep the plot going. So if you're not a huge fan then bear in mind neither am I.**


	14. Switch It Up and Rotate

**Author's Note: Ask and ye shall receive. Longer chapters, sorry about the long update... well long for me. I just got distracted, I was building a scale replica of Hong Kong's Central Plaza building, but I suppose you don't care. So about the story. **

**If you're an extreme feminist and is offended by the connotations of the title of this chapter, then accept my deepest apologies. It was just kind of hard to sum up everything that happens in afew words. And I'm kind of in volleyball season mode so... **

**But enough about me, on with the show.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or the ROM.****

* * *

**

Chapter 13 - Switch It Up and Rotate

Raven stood in the kitchenette wearing nothing but Dick's oversized t-shirt. She was making herself tea and checking her voicemail. As for Dick, she left him face-down, asleep in the bed. She punched in her password and waited for the machine.

"You have 5 unheard messages. First new message," She recognised the voice as soon as it came on, "Rae. Oh my God, I've been trying to reach you for the past half hour. It's about noon here, so it should be about 8 in the morning there," Raven immediately felt relief to hear his voice and guilt at once, "Listen, I'm sorry I wasn't there. You must be so… But, I swear I'll try to make it there as soon as I can. I don't know whatthe implications of the robbery are gunna be overhere yet,so…I might not be back as soon as expected. We're still on for the date right?" Raven smiled sadly, _Would you still want to date me after…_

"End of message. Next unheard message: Hey, it's me again. Sorry I know I just called but I wanted to tell you that I really hope you're okay. I mean not just physically okay, but emotionally too. That was one heck of an experience and nobody should have to go through it. I just really wish I was there to be with you…. Just… Just remember I'm thinking about you… constantly. I hope I'll see you soon." The pang of guilt she felt turned into a stab.

"End of message. Next unheard message: Okay, I must be getting annoying. Taking up your message space and all but… I just found out that the director wants me to personally check up on security there. So I'll be flying in tomorrow. Bad news is that he won't give us the rest of the exhibit until his own man checks over the security and gives him the go ahead. So just give the heads up to Victor and Jinx, he'll be here in a few days… I'll see you really soon… still thinkin' 'bout you… bye."

She sighed dreamily and listened to the rest of the messages, one from Jinx and another from the museum director of the ROM checking up on her and telling her she doesn't have to come in for the next couple of days if she felt she needed the time. She didn't need the time; she needed to get the memories of last night off her mind. _All_ of last night. She smacked herself in the head when she remembered where she was and what had happened. She rushed into the room and gathered her clothes.

Dick opened an eye and asked, "What's the hurry babe?"

She quickly spun around and glared at him, "Dick I told you never to call me that."

He shrugged, "I don't see that harm. Where you off to anyways?" She hopped on one foot, trying to get pants on.

"I'm going home." He jolted out of bed, wrapping the sheets around him.

"No, you can't, you're not safe." She had gotten all of her stuff in her bags and was headed out the door.

"I'll be the judge of that Dick. Thank you for your... hospitality, but now there's work to be done," she looked down the shirt she was wearing, "I'll wash this then get it back to you." She began to walk out the door when Dick caught her arm in a tight grasp.

"You can't leave. What about last night?"

"Last night was a mistake Dick. You and I both know that. I was not in a state to be making rational decisions. Now I am." His grip tightened and he glared at her. She winced.

"No! You can't leave. You don't leave unless I let you." He practically screamed at her.

"Dick… you're hurting me." He tightened his grip nonetheless and drew her close. False affection in his voice.

"Raven, you're not safe out there. The police said so themselves." She freed herself from him and walked out the door, shutting it in his face behind her.

* * *

Kinyago rubbed his neck, it was still sore from the choking he received from his 'partner'. _Some partnership, he_ thought as he walked to the room's wet bar and poured himself a glass of scotch. He looked into the glass, swirling the brown liquid around before taking a swig. His jaw clenched, baring his teeth and his eyes shut at the strength of the drink. 

He walked to the leather armchair and sat down, drink in hand. He smiled as he remembered the night before. What a night. He beamed with pride as he thought of how he had toppled security system. Given he had a slight advantage but it was extraordinary. Although it was quite unfortunate about the curator, it was a shame that she had gotten in the way. He didn't really want to mess with her. But now that he had, he was engrossed; he couldn't get her out of his thoughts.

So he immersed himself in memories of the heist itself. The way he had conquered this system was, if he did say so himself, ingenious.

The first thing was disabling the alarm system. The alarm systems for the display cases were disabled by a small disk that interfered with the transmission of the infrared beams. After they found where the well hidden receptors were, creating a device that could disable it without 'tampering' with the system was easy enough. It simply sent out a similar beam into the receptacle that overpowered the previous beam. They of course took the disk as they left.

Getting _into_ the museum was a challenge. They entered the museum through the south, they scaled the old building easily enough due to the fact that it wasn't all that well guarded to begin with. Then they crossed the roof to the new section. They reached the window directly above Crystal Court and popped the glass out of the frames so as to not trigger the smart glass technology implemented. After that, they rappelled down to the ceiling of Crystal Court and used a pulley system that they attached to the third floor balcony overlooking the Court to gracefully glide to the exhibition floor.

After that, finding the control box that connected the video cameras and motion sensors was a piece of cake.

He sighed and leaned back on the chair, crossing his legs and taking sips of his drink. He reached into his pocket to fish out the menat. He found himself playing with it a lot. He dragged the lapis lazuli beads across his fingers, remembering Raven's own dark blue, almost purple, eyes. That and the sweet taste of her shocked lips.

* * *

Raven plopped down on her sofa, exhausted. There really wasn't any reason for her to be, she just was. She lay on the couch, snuggling up to a soft suede pillow, pulling the throw that was over the back over her self. She took her foot and propped it up on the back of the sofa, face twisting to all sorts of odd faces for no particular reason. 

She could have just as easily reached over to the coffee table, snatched the remote and watched TV. But quite frankly she'd rather not. She let her hand dangle down and touch the floor where she felt something graze at her finger tips. It was a book.A book of sonnets. She vaguely remembered an ex-boyfriend giving it to her. She brought up the book from underneath the couch.

It was a small leather-bound book, the modern kind, made to look aged but not really capturing it. The cover was maroon with gold trimmings; the title was engraved in gold lettering also. 'Of Anguish' it said. She ran her fingers across the letters, blowing the dust off as she went along, and then opened it. A paper butterfly came flying out of it, the kind that Hallmark gave away with their greeting cards. She flinched as it came straight towards her head and dodged it as it continued to the ground behind her. Not bothering to look back she read the poem on the page it opened to.

**My Demon**

_Within the chasms of my wicked mind,_

_A demon I have candidly awoke._

_Beneath the cracks and shadows I did find_

_A creature I unleashed when e'er I spoke._

_He'd snarl and snap at friends and foe alike,_

_And stand his ground ready for any fight._

_He'd bare his teeth, then show his claws and strike,_

_Then boastingly, he'd roar with all his might._

_Despite all my protests, I must confess,_

_My share of his triumphs I did enjoy._

_Yet still, his might and force I must suppress,_

_'Less to my love his anger doth deploy._

_Now with control, I seldom let him free,_

_Should he escape and turn his eye to thee._

The author was anonymous. Raven read it twice, then three times over. _Who gave me this book? Greg? Was it Greg?_ She flipped through the pages briefly scanning titles and first lines of other sonnets. They were all of despair and hatred and vengeance.

_Whoever compiled this must have been quite bitter._ She returned to 'The Demon' once again. Raven sighed as she related her life to the poem. _It_ was _Greg. I bet he didn't even know what he was getting me. This is quite ironic because we broke up because he said I was too mean._ She remembered the break up long ago, back she first moved into her current loft. Greg was a cutie, but nothing special. The loss of him wasn't mourned for very long.

Now she thought about her current situation in terms of a relationship. For some odd reason, she felt loyal to Gar. They had known each other for a day yet he kept popping up in her thoughts. She would occasionally found herself laughing at something he said weeks ago. The man left such an imprint upon her that what ever time they had together, she remembered every single moment.

And then there was Dick. Dick was indeed handsome, there was no denying that. And to most girls his charms and enormous wealth didn't hurt either. The charms worked especially well, being the very quality that drew Raven in. But then she got to know him and just as quickly as the relationship started, it was over. And now he was here, back in her God damned life. Confusing the hell out of her. She couldn't make heads or tails about him. He'd be sweet and sympathetic one minute, then an arrogant jerk the next.

_Maybe he's schizophrenic, _she thought. She sighed, thinking about her love life was depressing. Glancing down again at the resonant words of the poem, Raven closed her eyes. She dreamed herself happily settled with a man. Whom exactly, she couldn't tell. Though as happy as she was, there was still that small nagging feeling in the back of her mind, making her hope he wouldn't be chased away by her 'demon'.

* * *

Raven awoke to the sound of her grumbling stomach. _Oh God, I haven't eaten all day._ Looking out the window in front of her, she saw that it was already dark out in the city. She glanced at the clock, 5:30. She had been sleeping for 7 hours. 

In an attempt to calm her stomach, she walked over to the fridge. There was nothing there but milk, eggs and several Styrofoam boxes of take-out that she dared not open. There was rarely any food in her refrigerator anyways. She scarcely ate, and when she did, it was usually with colleagues or just a bite to eat on the way home. Besides, it wasn't like she could cook, so all of her beautiful kitchen accessories were actually just for show. She grumbled to herself about learning to cook as she headed out the door, grabbing just any old jacket from the closet.

Surprisingly, the night air was fairly warm and there was no wind. So Raven walked to the Chinese Take-Out place down the road with nothing but what she was wearing. Grey jogging pants, Dick's shirt with a blue zip-up hoodie and the ski jacket she took from the closet. No hat, no scarves, no gloves. As she turned the corner, the street lights began to flicker out, enveloping her in darkness until the next one. She fought a growing sense of paranoia and pushed forward.

Just then a black gloved hand caught her arm. She jumped ready to scream when a familiar dark figure stepped out from the shadows. He stepped into the small amount of light that the other streetlamps provided and let Raven see all of him. He donned his usual black attire, same as last time, kind of. This time, his mask was rolled up to reveal his strong jaw.

"Hello Raven."

Raven gulped and pointed at the burn out street lamp, "Did you do that?"

He smiled and shrugged, "I couldn't very well see you with all that light about, now, could I?"

"Se-see me? Why? And how did you know my name?" She didn't run, she couldn't. He had already let go of her arm, yet she stayed, stayed to have a friendly conversation with an international thief.

"I just wanted to see you again, beautiful. Is that a crime? And anyways, anybody who's anybody in the whole world knows Raven Roth, the absolutely gorgeous curator of the Queen of the Nile exhibit." Raven blushed, hoping the minimal light wasn't enough for him to see. But his keen eyes did and he smiled.

"No, but robbing a museum is."

"Aww come on Raven…" He started to walk towards her but she put a hand out to stop him from approaching her further.

"You know all I have to do is scream?" He gave her a slight smile and stepped forward anyway, taking her naked hand in his gloved one.

"Dear Raven, it _has_ been quite the pleasure chatting with you, but I really must go," he said in a mocking gentlemanly voice. He bent over and grazed his lips on the back of her hand while Raven stood there, shocked, unable to say a word or make a move. Still over her hand, he glanced up at her and smiled.

Slowly letting go, her crept back into the shadows, "I shall see you soon, my beautiful Raven." Just then, the lights flickered back on, but no one was there. Raven stood alone on the sidewalk, cradling her kissed hand with the other.

* * *

Eventually, after a bouquet of flowers and many, _many_ chocolates, Jinx forgave Victor. They had spent the afternoon after the robbery in the process of making out… erhm, _up_. Making up. Therefore, Jinx sauntered along the halls of the ROM, whistling and grinning like an idiot, a happy woman. 

Raven, on the other hand,was not. She looked frazzled, as if she hadn't slept all night. Her hair was in a messy bun, two chopsticks sticking out like antennae. She didn't don her usual nicely pressed casual business suit, in its place dark grey yoga pants and her York University hoodie, the one with the big red Y in the middle. There really was no dress code for work, even the old curator would occasionally show up in jeans and a polo. Jinx and many other people usually just wore very casual clothes, but Raven prided herself in her upstanding reputation. She _always_ showed up for work in a suit, regardless whether or not there was anyone at all going to show up that day.

So imagine Jinx's surprise when she walked into Raven's office, happily calling her name in a sing-song manner. She opened the door, ready to make her grand entrance, then saw Raven, looking like hell, hunched over her desk, barely being able to keep her head up.

"Holy shit. What happened?" Jinx rushed into the room and pulled the chair up close to the front of the desk. Raven looked up from what she was writing, one hand on her forehead, and look up at Jinx. _Oh my God, she's not wearing make up. Something's seriously up._

"Nothing, just tired." She shrugged off Jinx concern as if she showed up for work like this everyday.

"Sweetie, you do know that Mumbo Jumbo upstairs gave you the next _couple_ days off, right? Not just yesterday."

Raven nodded, "Yes, I know. I'm just tired. Didn't get much sleep the past few days." It was the truth. Raven _didn't_ get much sleep at Dick's and yesterday she stayed up all night thinking of Kinyago. Half scared he might know where she lives and come into her house, half scared he might not. She didn't understand, he was a thief. A petty, lowlife, crook. A bandit, a burglar. A criminal. But he got under her skin, deep under. He knew just what to say, what to do to arouse her. And he clearlywent out of his way to do it. She was being played with, but couldn't help but enjoy the attention. So all night, she stayed up thinking about the three men who suddenly manifested, as if out of nowhere, to ruin her completely organized life, and, despite herself,add a little excitement.

Jinx raised her eye brow at raven silence, "Hey wha-" she was quickly cut off the ringing of the phone. Raven pointed a finger at her, asking her to hold the thought.

"Hello, Raven Roth's office." Silence, Jinx saw Raven's expression as the person on the other line started talking. Then she began to smile and whisper into the phone.

"Yeah… Oh hey… Yeah I did… Yes… No, no really I'm fine…. Re-really?... Umm, okay I ju-just… Oh sure… Yeah that's fine. Actually that's great…. Okay, I'll see you then." Raven hung up the phone, slumped on her chair and sighed dreamily before remembering she was in the presence of company. She quickly cleared her throat and sat up straight.

Jinx grinned and leaned in, "Okay spill, who is he?" Raven knew she was trapped, but she wasn't going down without a fight. She could hardly contain herself,shewas practically giddy with excitement.

"Who's who?"

"Oh, come on. Don't play with me. I know that expression," Jinx thought about it for a second before it dawned on her, her eyes bugled with excitement, "It's Gar!"

"No!" Raven's quick denial gave Jinx the final reassurance, she raised her eyebrow at her.

"Okay, okay I give. It is Gar." Jinx excitedly clapped her hands together, leaning back allowing her feet to lift off the ground kickingbefore coming back to lean in further.

"Spill."

"Spill what?"

"How many dates have you been on? How long has this been going on? Have you kissed? Have you-" She was interrupted by Raven's eraser colliding with her face. She rubbed her cheek and kissed her teeth.

"We haven't been on _any_ dates yet okay? He asked me when he was first here. Tonight's the first. Therefore, no and a definite _no_."

Jinx giggled like a teenager, "Raven's bagged herself a _rich_ one!"

"You know if I had more erasers I'd throw them at you," said Raven leaning back on her chair. A smirk bordering on grin was plastered on her face the rest of the day.

* * *

**A/N: See, longer chapter, not very but its a start. The poem back there was by me, so no stealing. If you want to use it, ask and ye shall receive. I also read through it looking for mistakes, find any please tell me. It's a bit ironic that my biggest pet peeve is bad grammar when my own is pretty atrocious. **

**The title refers to the passing of Dick as a potential player, and sub-ing in Kinyago. But... Dick is never really gone from the picture, you're just never sure when he's gunna pop up again. **


	15. To Be Rid of That Empty Feeling

**Author's Note: Wow, I've been out for a while haven't I? I sincerely apologize for both not posting all weekend, my family decided to take an impromptu trip up north, and for the absolute crap that is this following chapter. I wrote this on my laptop on the way up, so its basically rushed literary bullshit.**

**But, on the plus side, I did update my profile to add pictures of the date locations and Dick's hotel.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, BCE Place, Movenpick's, Nathan Phillip's Square or the King Edward.

* * *

**

**Chapter 14 - To Be Rid of That Empty Feeling**

Gar paced. He hardly got any sleep during his flight, every time he closed his eyes he saw her face and it just made him more anxious to get to Toronto. And now he was here but couldn't bring himself to open the door. He wasn't even in the lobby of her building; he was outside, pacing, thanking God for making it a pleasant day.

_What am I going to say? What if she lost interest in me? Oh God, is she even going to be in the mood after the ordeal she went through?_ He rolled up his sleeve and glanced at his watch. 4:27. _Okay, its 4:27. I told her I'd meet her at 4:30, if I show up now, will I seem too eager? But what if her watch isn't synchronized with mine and she thinks I'm late?_

He continued the inner debate for a second longer before he decided to go for it. Walking into the lobby, searching for her name and punching in her code. He fiddled with the zipper of his coat as he listened to the static ridden ring of the lobby phone. His dress was casual today, he asked her to dress casual too. He wore a zip-up hoodie, grey with a black design on the left pocket and on the left shoulder going down the arm. Over it he had a black and grey pinstriped blazer left unbuttoned, stone washed blue jeans and black and grey bowling shoes.

"Hello, Raven."

"Raven," he said upon hearing her voice, "It's me."

"Oh," he heard shuffling in the background and smiled at the thought, "Come on up, I'm on the top floor, you'll have to take the stairs because there's no elevator, sorry. 303." With that he heard the faint buzzing of the unlock mechanism and reached for the door, then making his way up the stairwell.

Meanwhile, Raven was calming herself with tea. Ever since his phone call in the morning, Raven had been practically skipping all over the place. She even left around 2:30 so she could give herself ample time to get ready. But now was the moment of truth and she had to keep her cool.

Then she heard a knocking at the door. Nearly jumping out of her seat, Raven made her way to open the door. She found Gar standing there, one hand casually in his pocket the other behind his head. He had on the most adorably innocent face, his head was down but his eyes looked up at her. He looked like a little boy who had been caught red handed doing something bad. Raven chuckled, crossed her arms and legs and leaned on the doorframe. They just both stood there taking the other in.

"So, are we gunna stand here staring, or are we gunna go," Raven asked.

Gar smiled at her, "Oh, I don't know. I'd be happy just standing here looking at you." He crooked his head to the side if he were admiring a painting. Raven shoved him, and he reeled back jokingly.

"Okay then, come in first. I need to get my jacket." Raven pushed off the door frame and walked inside. Gar trailed behind while his eyes followed every movement of her body as she walked. He licked his lips longingly at her when she wasn't looking. What she wore was especially enticing. Dark blue jeans with a light blue knitted wool turtle neck sweater; the kind that fit tightly around her body but was loose around her neck. She held up a hand asking him to wait as she disappeared into her bedroom. Gar took this time to walk over to her window and enjoy the beautiful view from her huge loft windows. She appeared beside him and looked out the window too. He peeled his gaze to look at her, an even better view.

"The sun is going down, we should go," she said as she pulled away. Over her sweater she wore a black military style blazer with buttons running up and down the lapels. He turned and headed towards the door opening it. Raven grabbed her keys, pocketing it before joining Gar. He smiled and offered his arm which she took hesitantly, before walking through the threshold.

* * *

The main hall of the BCE Place was lit brightly with Christmas lights hanging form the ceiling. Decorative foliage was littered along the massive hallway, all of the bright yellow Christmas lights making the steel frames of the structure glow. Gar and Raven walked won the long walk, making their way to Movenpick's. It was darker now, about 7:30 at night. They had spent the past three hours walking up and down Chinatown window shopping. They had talked about the amount of culture there was in Toronto compared to other Canadian cities which were predominantly white. Occasionally, they'd see rabbit and duck carcasses hanging in store windows and Gar would gag and Raven would laugh. He'd scowl and begin a speech about animal cruelty and how 'animals were people too', then he'd realise what he just said and they would both laugh. 

"I love Christmas," Gar said, stroking Raven's hand, her arm was still woven around his. When he first started touching her, she would flinch and recoil, but the more he did it, the more natural it became.

"Too bad it's passed, huh? It's mid March."

"Yes, but you know what they say, 'Christmas is always in our hearts.'" Raven rolled her eyes.

"With lines like that, I'm surprised I ever agreed to this date."

"Aw, come one Raven. Everyone loves Christmas."

"Well, you try spending Christmas alone," the conversation suddenly went sour. Raven looked down and tried to pull her arm away but Gar wouldn't let her, turning her to face him.

"I was alone for Christmas too," he chuckled sadly, "Now if we had met each other before Christmas then maybe we wouldn't have been so lonely." Suddenly, their intimate moment was interrupted by two small kids running between them. There was a little boy about the age of six being chased by who seemed like his older sister.

"Timmy, you jerkwad! Give it back!" They ran circles around Gar and Raven before the girl tripped and started to cry. Her brother stood where he stopped and just looked on at his crying sister, a worried look on his face. To Raven's surprise, Gar hurried over to the crying little girl.

"Hey, are you okay?" Gar put a caring hand on her shoulder.

"I-I-I hurt my knee," the girl managed to say between sobs.

"Okay, here. I'm going to give you something that'll make the hurt go away okay?" The little girl looked up at him and nodded. Gar went into his blazer pocket, fished around for a minute before taking out two silver wrapped candies. The little girl's eyes widened at the sight of potential treats.

Gar motioned for the little boy to come to him, "But first, tell me, what did your brother do?" The little boy got to them and stood looking down at the floor, making circles on the ground with his toe. His hand were behind his back and his blonde hair covered his eyes.

"I took her locket," confessed the little boy. He continued to look down and though Gar couldn't see his face, he could tell he was about to cry. Gar put hi closed fist, candies within, around the little boy's shoulder. The kid set out his hand and opened it revealing a small silver heart locket on a chain.

"Why would you do that?"

The little boy shrugged, "I don't know."

"Well, now your sister's hurt. But, don't worry," Gar leaned in whispering, "I have a cure for her knee, and there's one condition," the little kids on either side of him stared, "you have to apologize to your sister and you have to forgive your brother and then both eat this magic candy. Got it?" They both nodded.

"Sorry I took your locket Jesse." The little boy brushed his blonde locks out of his eyes, revealing them to be bright blue.

"You're forgiven," Gar smiled and gave them both the 'magical' candy. He watched, smiling, as they both ate it and the little boy helped his sister up.

"Thanks mister, my knee's all better now," called the little girl before they both walked away. Gar stood up and Raven walked over to him.

"Wow," she said, "I didn't know you were good with kids." He smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"There's a lot about me you don't know, and there's a lot about you that I don't know," he looked up and saw Movenpick's Restaurant, "Now maybe we can fix that." He playfully winked at her as he led her to the entrance.

* * *

Movenpick's was a Richtree establishment. Which meant it was a marketplace restaurant. Raven and Gar had both been there before and knew how the system worked. You would take a tray then go around the various stands picking out food, sometimes there would be little stands with various fruits and bread and other products which you could take also. As they entered, a plethora of smells hit them. All round were prepared salads, homemade soups, Swiss or Italian sandwiches, Indonesian specialties, and entrees like meatballs paprika or salmon steaks on a bed of curry rice. 

Gar quickly hurried away from the deli section, his head turned away and his hand on Raven's, and headed for the salads, murmuring something about animal cruelty. Raven laughed at him and unwillingly followed. They spent the next half hour picking out food and shamelessly flirting. Raven would playfully put something that had meat on Gar's tray when he wasn't looking and Gar would put nonsensical crap on her, like a bunch of grapes or 50 packets of ketchup or a long string of red licorice. They would laugh and push and shove each other, pretending to fight over food.

And Gar would touch Raven, and she would act as if she didn't mind or she didn't feel. In fact, she did mind, every time she felt the heat of his touch, she would have to suppress a massive blush. He would do it as if it were nothing, he would drag his hand along her lower back as he made his way around her, he would wipe off a bit of sauce that was on her cheek, he would grab her arm and lead her away or grab her from behind by the shoulders and guide her somewhere. One time, he came up from behind intending to scare her and wrapped both his arms around her waist, she jumped in surprise and her shirt lifted where his hand landed. The warm sensation of his strong hand on her bare stomach was too much for her and she blushed furiously. Gar also realised his mistake and blushed, but made nothing of it. He just smiled nervously and grabbed both of their trays.

"We should go pay," he said and she nodded dumbly unable to utter a word. He walked away, both trays in his hand and led her to the cashiers. Neither wanting to bring up what just happened, nor the thrill it brought both of them.

* * *

Gar looked up from his plate and stared across the table at Raven who was eating her dinner. She had lightly breaded chicken parmigiana topped with tomato basil sauce and Mozzarella. Occasionally he would watch her take a sip of he coke and smile at him before looking down again. 

"You're staring," she said after swallowing, not looking up.

He chuckled lightly, "Yes I am, but can you blame me?" She smirked and raised an eyebrow as she forked another piece into her mouth.

She nodded towards his plate, pointing with her fork, "Is it any good?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I guess." He was having gourmet pizza, vegetarian of course, "But how are you? Really, how are you?"

"You mean about two nights ago?"

"Yeah, that's what I mean. Like, are you okay? Are you sleeping okay?"

"I'm fine now." She was lying, she wasn't fine and she knew it. Ever since the robbery, sleepless nights and waking p to a cold sweat in the middle of the night were becoming regular occurrences. She kept having dreams, about one particular thief.

"Now?"

"Yeah, well I wasn't before," she had an inner debate, _should I tell him?_ She decided against it, "But now you're here." As soon as the words left her mouth she realised how cheesy it sounded. She stuck out her tongue and made a face while Gar laughed.

"Man, and you thought _I_ had cheesy lines."

"Shut up, I'm allowed my moments."

He threw up his hands, still laughing, "Of course you are." He regained his decorum and leaned into the table, "But how was it. I heard you came into contact with one of the thieves."

"It wasn't that big a deal. You might have heard of him, Kinyago?"

"Kinyago? The famous art thief? Di-did he touch you? Did he hurt you? Did he, umm…"

She smiled at his concern, "Yes he touched me but he didn't hurt me, and no, he didn't. He only touched me to hand cuff me to the display case. That was it." She was lying to him; she just didn't really want him to worry. He leaned back and ran a hand through his hair.

"That's good to hear."

"Yes, and I'm pretty sure I don't have to worry about them getting to the new part of exhibit. Jinx and Victor have been brewing up new ideas for a better system."

He leaned back in, "Oh? Is that so?"

"Yeah, so there's no need to worry about me." She let her hand rest on the table, she was done and by the looks of it, so was he.

He smiled, staring at her hand, laid his own on top of it and stared into her eyes, "You're gorgeous you know that?" She blushed lightly and looked back at him.

"And you, sir, are a pill." He took his heart on his other hand and feigned a heart attack, not letting go of her hand. She shook her head and threw a napkin at him. He stopped and came back to lean into the table.

"And guess what?"

Raven rolled her eyes at his little game, "What?"

"I really, _really_ love spending time with you. You are so different from other women. Like a breath of fresh air. Intelligent and beautiful. Absolutely unbelievable."

"Where exactly are you getting at Casanova?" She said trying to lighten up the uneasily serious moment.

He chuckled, "I wanna see you again. If that's okay." Raven made a show of thinking about it. In truth, if he didn't ask her, she would ask him.

"I think that might be okay."

"Great, so how does tomorrow sound?" This took Raven by surprise. _Tomorrow? Already?_

"Uhh…"

"I mean tomorrow during the day. It is Sunday."

"I don't see a problem."

"Okay, does around… noon sound good?" She nodded and smiled. The night was hardly over and she was already excited about the next day. She shook herself mentally and scolded herself, _Relax Raven, take this slowly._

* * *

Gar and Raven walked down the sidewalk in silence, hand in hand. They were both at the point where they could have comfortable silences. They reached Raven's apartment and entered the lobby. Raven fished her keys out of her pocket and turned around to face him. 

"Now," she said, "The last time we were here…"

"It ended tragically," he finished.

"And whose fault is that?" She playfully shoved his chest, taking note that it was quite firm and strong. He reeled, laughing, and then quickly grabbed her around the waist, bringing their faces within an inch of one another. Raven gulped as he brought his face closer, shuddering when his lips grazed hers, soft butterfly kisses.

This time he didn't pull back. The kiss was slow and soft. Passionate and kind all at once. Her arms found their way around his neck and her fingers grabbed a hold of the hair behind his head, bringing him closer still. His grip tightened as the kiss deepened and then they broke, both breathing heavily, gasping as if coming out of the water. They smiled at each other and he rested his head on her forehead. She sighed, tilted her head up again and pecked him on the lips.

"I'm glad it was a happy ending this time around. Goodnight Garfield Logan," Raven pulled away and in one swift movement unlocked the door and was walking down the hallway. He watched, shocked at her dismissive actions, as she disappeared behind elevator doors and he raised a hand goodbye a little too late. Murmuring a 'Goodbye' before heading out into the midwinter's night.

* * *

Raven woke up late the next day. She rolled over in her bed, turning away from the light shining through the window, through the French doors of her bedroom and saw the red glow of her alarm clock. She turned around and did a double take. _Fuck!_ She shot out of the bed and grabbing a towel ran into the washroom. 

Quickly taking a 5 minute shower, Raven hurried to put on clothes. It was 11:30 when she got out of the shower. She slipped on dark blue jeans and a black shirt topped off with a light brown corduroy blazer. She looked out the window and saw that most of the snow had melted away. She quickly made herself tea and sat in her living room just staring out the window.

The phone rang and she got up to answer it. It was Gar, he was downstairs. He had offered to come up and get her but she refused saying that she could walk down the stairs by herself, she was a big girl.

As Raven and Gar laughed into the phone, Raven found the small paper butterfly on the floor and placed it on the coffee table. She then hung up and rushed out the door.

Three flights of stairs later, Raven found Gar waiting at the lobby. She smiled at him, relieved that he too was pretty underdressed. He wore khakis and a dark yellow turtle neck. His hair fell over his face as usual which Raven took as a sign of his immaturity and, quite frankly, thought was absolutely endearing. She leaned up, brushed the hair away from his face and kissed him.

"So what's your big plan for today," she asked, eyes still half closed from the kiss. He just smiled and grabbed her hand leading her out of the building.

"You'll see."

* * *

"Ice skating?" Raven asked as Gar paid for their skates. 

"I thought about what you said last night, about it being mid March, and realised the Nathan Phillips square skating rink will be closing soon. And what a tragedy it would be if I didn't take you there before it closed." He led her to a bench carrying both of their skates. They watched as little children with their families and teenagers skated along the rink, most of who had taken off their jackets and sweater and wore just shirts.

"But, I've nev-"

"You've never been ice skating?" Raven blushed as she looked down at the skates in front of her feet and shook her head. Gar bent down and took her foot in his hand, slipping the shoe off.

"That's fine; I guess I'll just have to teach you," he tied the first white skate on and moved onto her other foot, "But I gotta warn you, I'm not the greatest either." He finished tying up the second skate and looked up at her. For the first time he noticed how close to her he was and blushed, standing up. He then sat down beside her and put on his own skates quickly. He got up and offered a hand for her to get up. She took it and got up only to quickly fall back down on her butt.

He laughed and said, "Come on, let's try that again shall we?" He pulled her up again and this time she fell forward right into his strong arms. She blushed heavily as she pushed away to him grinning.

"See, we haven't even gotten on the ice and I've fallen twice." He took her arm and guided her towards the ice slowly, as if teaching a child to walk.

"Relax, you'll be fine. Besides, if you fall that just means I'll have to catch you," he winked flirtily at her before they set foot on the ice. At first she slipped and wouldn't let go of the guide railing. He managed to coax her to letting go on the condition that he wouldn't let go.

They both laughed as he held both her hands and skated backwards, guiding her along. Occasionally she would slip and fall in his arms and he would grin, holding her around the waist. They had spent a little over an hour there and had gotten to the middle of the rink when a bunch of racing teenagers knocked them both over, Raven landing awkwardly on top of Gar. He laughed as she blushed and clumsily tried to get up, although only making the situation worse by repeatedly falling and embarrassing herself. Gar held onto his stomach trying to suppress his laughter. Giving up, Raven sat down on the ice and crossed her arms over her chest in a huff. Gar, still on the cold ice floor, crawled over to her and pecked her on the cheek.

"How about we get off the ice and I buy you coffee," he asked in a whisper, his hot breath on her ear. She nodded and let him help her up before they started the long journey off the ice.

* * *

"Yes, well I haven't been for too long. Just started when I got to the US because, of course, there's no ice in Africa," Gar explained. Raven was awfully sore after the skating ordeal, both her body and her ego. Never had she been so humiliated in front of a large crowd. They both walked down King Street on the way back to Raven's loft. 

"And then you dragged me here and decided to embarrass me, you know, just for laughs."

"Actually, no. To be honest I saw that movie 'Serendipity' and thought it was cute to go ice skating on a date. Well I think it's quite safe to say that everything doesn't turn out the way it does in the movies."

"And it only took you how long to figure that out? Hey wait, weren't you acting for a while?" Gar scratched behind his ear, embarrassed.

"He, I was hoping the world forgot about that." He turned to her and raised and eyebrow, trying to change the subject, "But hey, that means you've been doing your research about me haven't you?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Raven rolled her eyes and shrugged, indifferent, "I like to know about the people I'm working with."

"Hmm. Well. Acting was just a stupid dream of mine. Y'know, come to the States and start a big Hollywood acting career. Then I slumped."

"But I saw your movies, you weren't that bad."

"Oh, so you've been watching my movies too huh?" She shook her head and speed walked ahead; he laughed and jogged catching up to her, "Okay yeah, well acting didn't turn out too well. Yeah, I got the money and there was plenty of perks but I hated everyone having their nose in my personal business. I mean I was acting for like two years and people already knew where I lived and paparazzi were following me everywhere. It got boring so…"

"So you decided to found a multimillion drug company?"

"Yeah, simple as that," he glanced at his watch, "Oh shit. Its 4:00. I gotta get back to the Hotel to meet with Dick about the new expenses that the robbery brought on, he's probably fuming."

Raven clung to her coffee with both hands and looked down, "Well, you better go it's quite a ways to the Royal York isn't it?"

"Yes it is, but I'm not staying there. I'm staying at the King Edward," he stopped on his tracks; they were a block past The Royal Meridien King Edward hotel now, it was a mere block and a half from her building. She stopped too and faced him, he had long thrown away his coffee so his hands were free to grab her around the waist and draw her near. Raven was caught by surprise and gave a slight gasp.

"So now I'm closer to you," he brought his head down all the way and gave her a tender kiss on the lips. They stayed like that for a while, Raven's one hand around his neck, the other holding her coffee near her chest. They both reluctantly drew back and smiled.

"Well beautiful, I really must go. But I do hope to see you again," he began to pull away and walk backwards, "I'm really sorry I can't walk you all the way to your house."

"Its fine," she waved to him, "Besides, you can't keep Mr. Grayson waiting." She watched as he blew her kisses before breaking out into a full run, a while down he slipped and fell on his side. Raven inwardly giggled at his clumsiness and turned around to make her way back to her house.

* * *

**A/N: So here is the long awaited Gar/Rae date, erm... date**_s_**I really wanted to get this out of the way so that I can proceed with my evil, gut wrenchingly suspensul thief scene. Actually it isn't that bad. But those parts I truly enjoy writing. I may not post as much, though i have all of the story in my mind, I have yet to get it down. And i got a ton of pre-Christmas break projects to hand in. **


	16. Of Concubines

**Author's Note: I love this chapter, its the very scene I wrote this whole fic for. BTW concubines is a term for a personwho is having sexual relations with a man or womanwho is not her husband/wife...or boyfriend/girlfriend...hmmm. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

* * *

**

**Chapter 15 - Of Concubines**

Jinx sat in her office, chewing off the eraser on her pencil. Her pink streaked blonde hair was tied in a messy bun with the worst hair tie, making it look more messy than sexy, more than just two strands falling down on her face. Her attire wasn't exactly flattering either, she her jean work overalls and her now dirty red plaid button-up shirt, two sizes too big. Her reading glasses rested on the edge of her nose as she leaned back, staring at the computer screen, chewing on her pencil.

Her mind was on her work. After the break in, she and Vic had been working night and day to re-update the security system before the British Museum's security man got there. The plan was double enforcing the windows and outing small vibration sensors on each piece that would detect if it was removed from its pedestal, each of course would have its own individual line to the system. All of the codes for the motion sensors were now randomized every 12 hours and the cameras were also under lock and key. The beams from each display case was being changed from infrared beams to straight wire to be implanted in the floor. All of this would mean retiling the hall and bringing in loads of new equipment. They were now in the process of ordering the new window re-enforcements and the tiling men were to be hired tomorrow. Victor was now at his temporary office down the hall doing background checks on the workmen.

"Hi there," A rich velvety voice called to her from the doorway. Jinx looked up and saw Karen Beecher leaning against the door way. _Note to self: lock doors._ Jinx looked at the woman up and down. She wore a grey business suit, a pencil skirt with matching blazer. Her hair, as opposed to Jinx's static ridden mess, was in a neat bun. There was a silk scarf thrown carelessly around her neck which was now loosened giving a full view of her breasts. Jinx felt instantly threatened, and not in terms of business.

"Ms. Beecher, you shouldn't be back here," Jinx saw her eyebrow raise, "Well since you're authority, I suppose we could make an exception. So, state your business." Jinx rose from her seat, setting her glasses down and tucking the pencil behind her ear. Suddenly the difference between the two women hit her. In the elegance department, Karen won hands down. She had strong but smooth long legs and was about a foot taller than Jinx. As a matter of fact, she was about Victor's height. Jinx on the other hand was a measly 5 foot, short snappish blonde who right now looked like she should be working in a mine with 6 other companions.

"Actually, I'm here to see Victor. You don't mind, do ya girl?" For a moment, Jinx didn't trust herself to speak.

Jinx put on an over exaggeratedly fake smile, showing far too much teeth so that it was more of a snarl, "Why ask me? It's none of my business what ever goes on between the two of you. He's just in his office down the hall."

"I've never actually been to his office."

The smile was plastered onto her face, "Then I'd be happy to show you."

Just then, Victor passed by her door eating a sausage from outside. He stopped and saw the scene that was happening between the two women and choked on his last bite. Clearing his throat and pounding on his chest with his fist, he managed to clear it out.

"Hello ladies," he said. Karen turned around, a twinkle in her amber eyes and greeted Victor with a sultry touch on the arm.

"Hey Sparky, how ya been doin?" Jinx jaw nearly dropped when she saw this and Victor turned bright red.

Jinx crossed her arms in front of her chest and stood leaning her weight on her left side; she quickly tapped her right toe on the ground and kissed her teeth, "Yeah _Sparky_, how _are_ you doing?" Victor cleared his throat several times while he made his way nervously to where Jinx stood behind the table and kissed her on the cheek.

"I'm good," he turned to Karen, "And what might this pleasure be regarding Agent Beecher?" His voice was rough and squeaky, he kept and arm around Jinx's waist while his palm kept sweating.

"Actually, Ms. Hagge was about to escort me to your office. But now you're here so," her face quickly went from playful to serious, "I need to speak with you in private, Victor." Victor nodded in agreement and kissed Jinx on the cheek again.

He stayed leaned in and whispered into her ear, "Just an ex, I swear. Please don't be mad. I'll make it up to you later, I swear, its just business." He kissed her again before heading out the door and leading Karen to his office.

* * *

"Do you have any idea what they stole?" Karen sat on the armchair across from Victor's desk; he was standing by the garbage, cleaning his hands with small wet napkins. 

"No, but I have a feeling you're gunna tell me and I better be paying attention cuz its important. And by the way, way to get me in trouble back there."

"A knife and a menat."

"You're ignoring me, fine. A knife and a menat, and?"

"And? Victor don't you see? This was just a warning. They just wanted to show us that they could take anything they wanted. Why else leave everything behind after going through all the trouble of packing it? Do you even know what the implications of those two items were?" Victor sat down and shook his head. Karen rested her forehead on a palm and let out an exasperated sigh.

"A menat is a piece of jewellery thought to be associated with the Egyptian goddess Hathor. She was a drunken fool who embodied many things, love and pleasure among them. This was a natural choice for Kinyago, the prankster prince of the crime world. But the knife, the dagger, was gold gilded and bore the sign of the god Onuris. The Egyptian god of war." Victor suddenly snapped to attention at Karen's impromptu history lesson.

"Each piece they stole represented what kind of person they really are. Kinyago the menat which was relatively dull aside from the bits of gold a lapis lazuli, and it represented his light heartedness. But the dagger, gold, priceless. A weapon bearing the mark of the god of war. Victor, he's dangerous. If I have to stop this I will and I have the authority to," Karen leaned into Victor's desk, at this point he had his hand on his chin and stared out the window in deep thought. "Victor, Raven's life may be in danger."

* * *

Raven stepped out of the bathtub and wrapped a towel loosely around her body. After she got home, she did some work and took a nap for about three hours. She woke up to find it was nine o' clock and that her body was sore from all of the falling she had been doing. She then decided to take a bath before bed, staying in for an hour or so. Standing but still in the tub, she rung out her hair beside her then let it hang limply around her shoulders. 

She walked into the kitchen and placed a kettle on the stove, setting it on low. Raven walked around back to the washroom to drain out all of the water then made her way to the darkened living room. Her hands fumbled along the wall searching for the light switch. She found it, flicked it on and turned slightly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a small paper butterfly flutter towards her and a small cracking sound followed. She turned around and gasped.

On her brown leather recliner was Kinyago. His mask was rolled up again and he donned his usual black suit. But now his hands were un-gloved, she saw the gloves sticking out of the side of his belt, and his hands cracking his knuckles.

"About time, it took you long enough to get out of that bath." Raven pressed her back against the wall but didn't scream; she could only imagine the expression on her face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Raven leered at him, forgetting for a second that she only wore a towel.

"Oh, come on. Is that the way your mother taught you to greet guests?" He smiled and crooked his head to the side.

"You are not welcome here Kinyago…"

"So you _have_ heard of me. And here I thought my publicist was slacking off." He kept grinning at her, as if they were old pals having a friendly chat. Raven was furious now. He had broke into her home and now sat in her recliner making jokes.

"Just, what the fuck are you doing here?" Raven's voice elevated as he rose out of the seat and started to slowly approach her. He was quite built and she took note of that. Then she shook herself mentally and reminded herself of one truth, he was a thief. A thief who was out to rob her exhibit.

"Oh, you know, just stopping by to say hello, beautiful." He took another step towards her, his hands out to his side palm facing up.

"Funny."

"On the contrary, I'm being quite truthful." Another step.

"Well, I'll go get my ice skates then cuz hell must have frozen over," she snapped back and he tilted his head back in laughter before stepping forward again.

Raven herself wasn't amused, "Just in case you're planning on robbing the exhibit, I thought I'd warn you that we'll have a better security system than originally planned." As the very words left her mouth, she wondered why on earth she was telling him this. _I just threw the frikking gauntlet down in front of him. Dumb, so fucking stupid. What is wrong with me?_

"So I should cross Cleopatra off of my must-have list?"

"If you value your ass, and I hear you do."

"As a matter of fact I do." Another step.

"Then leave, get out of Toronto." Why was she helping him? She should have shut up abut two sentences ago. She realised her current situation; not two steps away from an international art thief who is planning on robbing the very exhibit she's working on in nothing but a towel.

"But we both know you don't want me to do that now do you, Raven," he crooked his head again to the other side and ginned widely, "Don't hit me but you're magnificent when you're angry. Of course your," he cleared his throat, "_attire_ doesn't hurt either."

She laid a hand on her hip, "So that's why you're here? To gawk at me half naked?"

He smiled and shook his head, "No… I came to do this." He closed the gap between then and took her face in his hands, kissing her gently. She should have stepped on his toe, or punched him in the gut; instead she tilted her head up and accepted his offer.

She felt his hand at her throat, warm and hard and felt his other hand wander down and grab her around the waist, holding her against him. She didn't even fight. She merely felt herself give in and melt into his arms; she didn't even notice her hands tightly grabbing the sides of his shirt and pulling him closer.

It was a peculiarly teasing kiss, without force yet there was an underlying desire he didn't even try to hide. An inner battle had been waging inside of her the moment she saw him in her chair, but now it was silenced. All she could think of was the hard heat of his body against hers and the seduction of the kiss.

Suddenly, the warmth of his hand on her neck disappeared and she felt the lights go out around her, hearing the soft click of the switch. He pulled away and grabbed her hands, removing them from his side and placing them by hers. They were both breathing heavily when he leaned in close to her ear, his hot breath on her neck sending sensations down her spine.

"Don't forget me Raven," were the last things she heard before she felt him back away completely. For a while she just stood there, leaning against the wall, her wet hair leaving an imprint on the wall. Standing alone in darkness, Raven stood there furiously cursing herself. _Dammit, How easy, How fucking easy._ How maddeningly easily had he managed to fascinate her mind and affect her body.

_I don't even know his fucking _name_! All I know is the infamous name of a conniving thief._ She sighed and put a hand to where he had his hand on her neck and froze. She felt the miniature beads of a necklace that wasn't there before. She quickly turned around, flicked on the lights and saw in the mirror that she was wearing the stolen menat.

She looked at herself in the mirror for a while, wearing the necklace. Her mind went over his last words. They had a finality to them that Raven couldn't make up her mind about. _Is he really gone for good?_

* * *

**A/N: (wolf whistles) Yea! Go Kinyago! I love this guy, he's so much fun to play with, not to mention hot. This is where that little butterfly comes in, I told you everthing was significant. Now if you want a head start on everyone else, you'll read back and notice the little hints I've been dropping about how this might end. **


	17. A Spanner in the Works

**Author's Note: Okay, this was nearly pointless. I think I'm going to drag this on for longer, just to keep you on your toes. Warning, plot twists ahead. Oh and kudos to those paying attention to little hints, I thinkI was pretty blunt though, may have ruined it. O well. **

'Give me the spanner.'

'The what?'

'The wrench!' - **Sorry, random. But the title reminded me of this scene in Entrapment, yet another inspiration for this story. Haven't seen it? Check it out, SeanConnery and Catherine Zeta Jones, two thieves, two awesome heists. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or Fortune's Fine Jewellery

* * *

**

**Chapter 16 - A Spanner in the Works**

Jinx walked into Raven's office, happy to find her cold hearted boss was back. Raven wore her usual attire, no-nonsense navy blue business suit and heels. Jinx waltzed right into the office as in her usual manner and sat on Raven's desk.

Leaning close she whispered to a busy Raven, "Guess what." Raven looked up from her paper work and raised an eyebrow, uninterested.

Jinx, although knowing otherwise, took this as 'proceed' sign and continued, '"There has been some talk, y'know around the office, that Dick," she cleared her throat, "_dick_ had been… preoccupied lately." Now Raven was interested. Her eyes widened as a million thoughts filled her head. _O God has everyone found out. Did Dick brag about that one night? O shit, no one better tell Gar._

"He's having an affair with," Jinx paused for dramatic effect causing Raven to sigh, "Kori!"

Raven's actually gasped; no one had seen that coming. She instantly felt relief wash over her. Of course everyone had seen Dick send flirty hints the way of Raven's secretary, but his promiscuous reputation preceded him and no one thought more of it. And now he had gotten himself a new flavour of the month. A protective motherly feeling suddenly swept over Raven. Kori was a sweet girl, naïve and innocent, Raven swore an oath silently to herself vowing to kill Dick if he hurt her.

"Where'd this come from?"

"_Every_one is talking about it," Jinx looked away and smirked, "well of course _you_ wouldn't know, you've been preoccupied yourself with your own little millionaire hunk." Jinx gave Raven a playful wink. She bit back with a look that said 'o yeah?'

"Well then, it seems like this exhibit has brought more than just publicity into our lives, because from what I recall you got yourself your own security man. Or is Victor a thing of the past?"

"Right now, I'm snubbing him. He's been spending an awful lot of time with that officer Beecher, I know he's over her but he need to be trained. And I just happened to have a couple of doggie treats and a rolled up newspaper." Just then Victor burst into the room, breathing heavily as if he'd been running.

"Jinx I-" he saw the two women sending him glares for interrupting their talk, "Uh, sorry. I'll come back later."

"No, its fine. We were done anyway," Jinx stood up from the desk and gave Raven a small wink before heading out the door to see what Victor had wanted. The door closed behind them and Raven smiled, they were an adorable couple. She thought about what she said before, about Cleopatra brining them more than ticket sales. It had completely changed their lives.

* * *

Jinx walked ahead of Victor on the way to her office, he slugged behind her head down, his hand nervously scratching the back of his neck.

"So, um Jinx sweetie, you're not still um, y'know, mad about-" He stuttered as she picked up the pace, suddenly he was cut off the slamming of her office door in his face. He opened it and rubbed his nose, "Oh, um, that's fine… I'm sure it was an accident."

Jinx had made her way to her chair and sat down, "I'm not. So you wanted to talk to me?" Victor sighed and let his shoulders sag before walking over to where she sat. He bent down on his knees and put his hands on her thighs.

"Jinx, come on, don't play with me. Karen is nothing, it was just business. She just likes to get under your skin is all."

Victor smiled his charming smile and jinx sighed, giving in and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. If he ever found out that by using his softer side he can get her to give in during any argument, then that would be the day and she would fold like a deck of cards under his will. He smiled suggestively and she let him spread open her legs, grab a hold of her outer thighs and pull her in close to his torso. They were face to face. It was a starkly erotic position, and everything female in Jinx responded wildly.

She grinned cattily, "So you're sure I have nothing to worry about _Sparky?_"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure; just... maybe you should find me a new nickname."

Jinx furrowed her brow, "Hmm, let's see. How about your old college nickname, Cy? Cyborg?"

He tilted his head back laughing, "No, Gar still calls me that. It's stupid, pick another one."

Jinx thought again before getting a naughty look in her eyes and pulling him closer so that their bodies touched, "How about Stone?"

He grinned back, catching her hint, "I could think of a couple reasons why that would be okay." Their faces were inching closer, both grinning at the connotation. Both forgetting where they were, and that the door wasn't locked and anybody could just burst in. They were too caught up in each other.

Jinx looked down at his lips and licked her own, "Yeah? So can I." And their mouths closed in, in a heated kiss.

* * *

Outside, Karen and Roy sat in a disguised white van. Contrary to the popular belief of there being an entire arsenal of weapons and massive amounts of technology packed into the backs of the white cop cars, all there was were old-time army surplus radios, two laptops and piles of papers spread out over a small coffee table stuffed inside with two benches on either side.

Karen wore her civvies, jogging pants and a sweatshirt, as did Roy. They sat in the back, Tim Horton's coffee in hand, looking over candid black and whites taken of people frequently exiting and entering the ROM. Among them were, Victor, Jinx, Raven, Gar, Dick, Kori and several other staff. Stapled to these pictures were the person's stats and background information.

Karen rubbed her palm against her forehead frustrated and annoyed with lack of sleep. Time was ticking and he was still at large. He was dangerous, among INTERPOL's most wanted criminals list, and what really irked them was that they knew right where he was. He was here, in Toronto and he had his eye on _this_ exhibit. They had even already set a trap. But for him, was it enough?

* * *

Mikron O'Jeneus waltzed right into the ROM like he owned the place. He was a short Irish kid looking to be no older than 16. He was, of course, a genius. His flaming red hair stood slightly slicked back with massive amounts of gel. He wore overalls and a green turtle neck underneath with an olive bomber jacket to top it all off. Strutting in past the front doors and bumped right into Victor who was walking with Jinx.

Victor quickly apologised as Mikron walked away, he waved a hand impassively, "Watch it ya big lug!"

"What'chu call me punk?" Victor called back despite Jinx's hand on his arm telling him not to start.

Mikron turned around, "I called ya a big lug, all brawn no brains." His Irish accent emphasised the R's and U's. He rested a hand on his hip in a authority defying stance. Jinx couldn't help but giggle at the fact that he looked like a little leprechaun.

Victor poked his shoulder, "You better watch yourself kid, don't start shit with important people." Mikron swiftly caught his hand before he could jab it in his shoulder again causing Victor's jaw to drop at his agility.

"Hey ya big lummox, I'll tell you who's important here and who's not. I happen to be Mikron O'Jeneus, Mikron 'Gizmo' O'Jeneus sent over here to do an inspection of the security system on behalf of the British Museum," Vic gulped visibly and Mikron smirked, "And I'm assuming by your attitude that yer none other than Victor '_Cyborg'_ Stone." He emphasised on Vic's nickname in a mocking voice.

"So, shit for brains, if you want Cleopatra here. You better shut yer mouth and show the _really _important people some respect." Jinx saw smoke come out of Vic's ears and decided to butt in before he said something stupid.

"But you can't older than 16." Mikron took his gaze off of Vic to look at Jinx, and his eyebrows rose approvingly. He dropped Victor's hand and took Jinx's in a sweeping bow.

"Well, fair maiden, I'm somewhat special. I became a member of Mensa when I was 7 and invented my greatest inventions before I was 9. By age ten, I was being hired by the world's most renowned museums to do security, the Louvre in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and of course the British Museum."

Victor watched on, fuming with anger and jealousy, as the young punk put the moves on his girlfriend.

"I heard its all down hill from here," murmured Victor, his arms crossed across his chest.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you Mr. O'Jeneus. I'm Jennifer Hagge, the resident chief of security here at the ROM. Now we'd like to get started right away so I'd you'd follow me." Jinx walked away with Mikron beside her, grinning like a love sick puppy, and Victor trailing behind, arms still crossed and positively fuming.

* * *

A small bleeping red dot pulsed at the bottom left corner of the laptop. There was a robbery in progress. Karen looked up and pressed enter, a map of Toronto appeared with the location of the robbery glowing red.

Roy looked up at it too, "Relax Bee, its local turf. The last thing they want are a coupled of suits marching in their territory." Karen just shook her head as she ran the mouse over the location, 1901 Avenue Road. She turned on one of the radio transceivers and waited. The familiar sound of police codes came from the metal box.

Suddenly she exited the back and Roy saw her enter the driver's side.

"Hey, I said-" She turned around to face him through the mesh, cutting him off.

"I know what you said, but this is a jewellery store. Our man coulda hit it, 'sides it don't hurt none to go check it out. We don't hafta get involved. Just listen for updates and chill."

Roy shook his head and listened intently on the radio for further updates as the van jerked forward.

* * *

Karen watched from the van's driver seat as police cars flooded the area. It was all a big commotion. They were at Fortunes Fine Jewellers in North York, it wasn't far from the ROM though, actually it was just further down the street. Although, Roy argued, the robbery was a forced entry, even from where the van sat Karen could see broken glass, there were even paramedics there carrying two people away on a stretcher. It couldn't possibly have been their man, though he was known to be violent, he didn't break into places in broad daylight charging and knocking people out. His style had more finesse, albeit not too much since he did still knock heads when necessary.

"See Bee, it's not him."

"Shut up, get the metabolic microphone and get your ass up here." Roy sighed and followed orders, coming into the passenger seat with a small gun like object with two headphones jacked in. Karen slipped on the headphones, aimed it towards the scene and pulled the trigger, suddenly the headphones filled with sounds of frantic conversation.

Karen squinted trying to listen to the chief directly.

"Big guy, massive, about 6 feet. He had, um, brown hair and a thick goatee. Looked about early thirties or so. But shit he scared the fucking hell out of us. I though he was gunna kill Claire. Like fuck he was strong, lifted her up with one hand and smashed the glass with the other." The man behind the counter was retelling his story.

"Chief, souns like our man," some other cop.

"Yep, sounds a lot like him, made away with 300 grand worth of jewellery. But I still don't know. He's wanted all over Europe and the US…" The chief's voice was young, not the rough deep, seeded with cigarettes and booze stereotype portrayed on TV.

"Yeah Chief, he gets himself wanted from all the noteworthy states and countries so he crosses the border. Makes sense."

Just then they heard yet another officer come in, "We got it Chief, Baran Flinders. Born in Australia, believed to be emotionally unstable and mentally underdeveloped, Jesus, we got ourselves a brainless ape. Served 4 years in Britain for arson. 6 in the US for larceny, was believed to be a part of the HIVE gang in Boston, mostly muscle work, y'know' bustin' knee caps and breakin' legs. Shit, I could go on; the charges on his guy are endless. He just kept getting off, dead witnesses and bribed judges, that whole scene. Still don't know what he's doing here, sir."

Karen released the trigger, she couldn't believe her ear. Baran Flinders. Mammoth, was here. He too was infamous among INTERPOL. He was an international goomba, took orders from anybody for the right price. He wasn't here on his own, no he couldn't even cross the border without setting off alarms, without somebody's help. He was working for someone, someone who wanted a slice of the pie.

She turned to Roy, all of the colour drained from his face, "Looks like this exhibit is attracting more attention than we want."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, Mikron O'Jeneus is the actual name of Gizmo. I'm not sure if he's Irish cuz his origin story doesn't really say but his name sure does sound Irish. Also, in the comic book, he's actually old, with red hair and a goatee, but for those who don't follow the comic, just think of him as a combination of Gizmo and Kid Flash. After all, Kid Flash and Jinx were awfully cute.**


	18. Mibanduko Kinyago

**Author's Note: Okay, short chapter for the sake of suspense. Explanations below. Isn't interesting, 'Kinyago' in Swahili does not only mean clown, joker, and comedian... it also means mask.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or theRedpath Sugar Refinery.

* * *

**

**Chapter 17 - Mibanduko Kinyago**

Raven stood beside a furious Victor as Jinx went over all of the security measures in Crystal Court. They had just left her office after proper introductions and overviews, with much murmuring going on under Vic's breath. Whenever he did that, Jinx would roll her eyes and elbow him in the side then murmur something back about being polite.

There they stood, in the centre of the court, surrounded by dozens of display cases, now a different design from the previous ones. They were now solid aluminium pillars coming out of the ground, no more legs to hide little devices. The old visible cameras were also replaced with small pinhead cameras hidden throughout the halls. Some were disguised as bolts, other carefully hidden within the pieces them selves, those had their own separate closed circuit system.

The motion detectors were still the same but now there were reinforcement infrared motion detecting beams throughout the vent system so that any interference would be detected. Raven also allowed them to add touch sensors on each display, there weren't any chances of it being accidentally triggered since the cases were bolted to the ground.

Of course Raven and Vic had heard all of this before and were incredibly bored. Raven didn't even understand why she had to be there, she had nothing to contribute. Though she did enjoy watching Vic turn green with envy over Jinx and Mikron's interaction. Jinx looked awfully friendly towards the kid, though Raven knew it was all a façade. It was all temporary, for the exhibits sake; she would humour the runt just long enough for his approval. _Ah, the benefits of looking like a dumb sex kitten._

Raven's eye wandered around and spot Roy Harper and Karen Beecher standing near the entrance. She saw Karen gesture for her to come over. _Wonder what they want now._ She tapped Victor on the arm, jerked her head towards the entrance and he nodded in return.

"Ahem, excuse Ms. Hagge, I'm afraid I must go. Mr O'Jeneus, it was a pleasure meeting you and I leave you in the very capable hands of Mr. Stone and Ms. Hagge," she blurted out an excuse before hurrying to the two waiting INTERPOL agents.

She stuck out her hand at them, "Agent Beecher, Agent Harper," she nodded at them respectively, shaking their hands, "How may I help you?"

"Actually, Ms. Roth, we're here to help you," said Roy, his eyes and expression hidden behind his glasses.

"Oh? If I may ask, why and how?"

"Well, do you remember the night of the robbery a few nights ago?" Raven sighed and leaned against the cold aluminium wall, how could she forget?

She nodded, "Yes."

"We informed you that your life may be in danger. Miss, that threat is still very real. And now we have reason to believe that the hazard has increased." Karen looked at Raven, whatever colour was in her face was drained. Karen put a hand on Roy's arm asking him to stop.

"Raven, we really don't mean to scare you. But the threat is very real, as you know yourself. So," Karen gazed at Raven, compassionate eyes asking her to relax and cooperate, "We'd like you to pack up a few things and join a family member or a close friend and stay with them for a while."

Karen saw on Raven's face that she had neither, "Or we could put you up in a hotel and monitor you from there, your choice. We just cannot afford you staying alone. Especially during the shipment of the artefacts, that's when you're most vulnerable. And that's when they're most likely to strike if they do, during transport."

Raven's eyes shifted downward, she looked at their feet and thought about it. _Wow, they're really serious. How bad could this really be? I've… encountered Kinyago several times and, other than being dangerously flirty, he was no real menace. _She hastily debated in her head and decided to go ahead and comply with the two agents. She glanced at her watch before looking up, 7:30? _Has it really been all day?_ She looked out the glass doors behind them. _Shit, it _is_ dark outside._

Looking up she said, "I'd be happy to oblige, Karen. I'll take you up on your third offer."

Roy clasped his hands together, "Great, we'll arrange for your accommodations as soon as possible. We'll have everything read for you first thing tomorrow. We suggest you go home tonight and pack for the next few weeks. We also urge you not to tell anyone of these arrangements, just in case." Raven nodded her head in understanding. They exchanged parting words before Raven made her way back to her office to grab her things.

* * *

Kinyago gently hopped onto the roof of the old sugar factory. The Redpath Sugar Refinery had been closed since 1981 after 126 of production, making it one of the oldest buildings in Toronto and the first factory in all of Canada. Now it's a mere antique, housing a museum of the history of sugar refining and the Redpath family papers. An extended 'modern' section was build below for offices of the new sugar company using the old factory as its base, for publicities' sake. Although the decrepit building is near forgotten history of the city it still stands, a monument; a disappearing old stain on the face of a modern city.

The climb up as easily enough, all Kinyago had to do was scale the old sugar drop that slanted from the ground to the top. He walked to the southern edge, facing the water, and propped a foot up on the ledge leaning on it.

"Glad to see you could make it Kinyago," The harsh cold voice came from behind him; he turned not removing his foot from the ledge. He saw the medium build silhouette of his 'partner' against the bright lights of the city, "I've noticed you've been quite… busy, lately."

Kinyago spread his hands in an outward motion, "Yep, here I am," he leaned his elbow back on his knee and rested his other hand on the forearm, "So, what is the importance of this meeting?"

He watched as the silhouette crossed his arm behind his back and walked towards the ledge himself, "Kinyago, we have a… business transaction. Quid pro quo, therefore if I fail, as do you. Is that not correct?"

"Yeah," he wasn't sure where this was going but he didn't like the sound of it. Kinyago rubbed his neck remembering how the man didn't hesitate the last time.

"Kinyago, I am no fool. Nor do I appreciate being jerked around like one. _I told you to stay away from the girl_! You undermined my authority, Kinyago. You lost my trust."

"Authority? I thought this was a collaboration, a partnership," his voice was strong, defiant.

"Yes, indeed it _was_. I apologize, I've been so rude. Allow me to introduce my friend; you may have heard of him, he goes by 'Mammoth'." The man stretched out his arm to his side and a large figure emerged from the shadow of the single remaining smoke stack. He was massive, about 6 feet tall and well muscled, his posture reminding Kinyago of an over grown mountain ape.

Mammoth cracked his knuckles loudly before the dark figure spoke again, "He is my new associate," he reached behind him and pulled out a gun, a shining silver .44 magnum revolver, and pointed at Kinyago. He chuckled softly, manically, "I'm afraid, due to misconduct on your part, I'm just going to have to let you go. I just don't think we're compatible."

At that moment, time seemed to slow down for Kinyago. He saw the flash of the gun and the figure recoil from the power. His limbs seemed to be made of stone, unable to run away from the slow moving bullet. He moved slowly, as one would in a vat of Jell-O, and he fell backwards of the edge as the bullet hit him. A searing pain went through his left side and he toppled off the edge.

The man casually walked over to the edge where Kinyago had fallen off, Mammoth close behind him. He crossed his arms behind him again, the gun still in hand, and peered over the edge, laughing.

"Look at it this way; at least you can join your museum bitch in Khert-Neter."

* * *

Raven slept soundly in the comfort of her bed one last time before she would have to abandon it. Earlier on she had packed away everything she needed for a couple of weeks, now laid in bed fast asleep.

That is until a rustling roused her awake. She sat up, clinging onto the covers under her chin, and listened. She heard loud, brash movement in her living room and despite all commonsense imbedded in her, she decided to get up and check the source. Maybe it was her brave side making an appearance, maybe she was just curious, or maybe… she hoped it was him.

She opened the French windows from her bedroom to the living room and turned to a dark silhouette of a man standing across from her. He was breathing heavily and his body swayed to the rhythm of his breaths.

"Ki-Kinyago?" She called out, wondering why he hadn't said anything. Suddenly, he stepped forward towards her, a small heavy step, and collapsed, his right hand clutching the lower left side of his abdomen.

Raven rushed to him, forgetting that she was only in her nightgown, and sat beside him. She noticed there was a pool of water around him and his clothes were dripping wet and cold. She put a hand on his chest to calm him down, his breathing was shallow and she could hear him gasping for air.

"Let me see," She lifted his shirt to reveal a 3 cm wide bullet wound on his stomach, the shirt was drenched in water and blood, which he was loosing quickly. She quickly removed his gloves and held his hands in hers, trying to keep them warm. They were freezing.

"You're half way frozen," she said, her voice trembling with concern and fear. What the hell was she doing? She was helping a thief that had previously broken into her museum. Why wasn't she calling the cops? Why was she so scared? She heard his breath quicken and the black fabric of his mask rise up and down where his gaping mouth was. She laid a hand on his bare stomach, where there was no blood, and he shivered at her touch.

"Holy shit, holy shit. What the fuck happened?" She watched him cough and gag, he was dying now, he couldn't breathe.

"I'm gunna have to take this off," she hesitantly reached for his mask and he grabbed her hand. His hand on her wrist felt cold and icy. She just stared into what she hoped were his eyes and waited. With slow movement, he released her hand and flopped down on the floor again.

Raven gulped and began to peel off the mask. Slowly revealing his true skin, a bit at a time; first his jaw. Then his mouth, his cheeks, then his nose, his ears. Then she stopped, right before his eyes, and pulled back. Biting back fear she quickly jerked the mask off revealing…

Emerald green eyes. Half closed and fading, but still the same.

"Be-Beecher… call… Bee-"

* * *

**A/N: Okay, lots of explaining to do. The title 'Mibanduko Kinyago' means 'removing the mask' in Swahili, that's why it was interesting that 'Kinyago' also meant mask.**

**What the dark figure mentioned, 'Khert-Neter', aldo known as 'Neter-Khertet', is what is described in the Egyptian _Book of the Dead_ asthe "divine place underground" meaning the afterworld. **

**You may ask how did Kinyago get from the factory to Raven's house in his condition? Well, it is implied that he fell in the water (which is entirely fictional because though the factory may be _on_ the harbour front, it is not close enough to the water that if you fell from the top you'd be in Lake Ontario), after falling the water, he would have swum back onto land. Now Raven's house, as I think I have mentioned, is along King St. Her loft is an actual location (currently occupied) within the St Lawrence Market, which is actually a mere 5 blocks from Redpath. There is actually one road that will take you from the factory to Raven's 'house' which is seldom driven by because it goes under the bridge. So if you bypass the fact the he wouldn't have survived the fall, a shot in the stomach and a 5 block trek is slightly believable.**

**And finally... YES! I did hear of the official Gar/Rae hook up and have a link to the image and have it posted on my profile. Effin A! I swear whenI read it I squealed for joy. The comic book Gar is SOO HOT!**


	19. Of Opened Eyes and Broken Hearts

**Author's Note: Thanks for the great reviews! I'm flattered, really, but, I have a confession to make. For a while, the thrill of writing this thing was gone, like I couldn't bring myself to write anymore. But now, the plot is moving along and I found the fun again, all the plot twists and character cameos are not only fun to write about but also keeps you readers on your toes. Keep a watchful eye out for clues, anything has something to do with everything.**

**Remember my motto - "Always make the audience suffer as much as possible."**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.**

* * *

**Chapter 18 - Of Opened Eyes and Broken Hearts**

Raven sat in the large brown leather armchair in her living room; she glanced at the clock on the wall. _It's been an hour. A fucking hour._ She was still recovering from the shock, Garfield Logan was the infamous international art thief Kinyago. It had taken her the better part of the hour grasping that concept.

The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Gar told her he spoke Swahili, Kinyago was the Swahili word for joker and mask. The name gave away his personality; he was a fun-loving all around good guy. She thought back to their first 'friendly outing', he mentioned he was no saint, that he had his own "_little secrets". _Little _my ass._ She never saw him much after dark and when ever Kinyago was around, Gar was nowhere to be found and vice versa. It also explained how easily he had broken into the museum. Victor Stone was a good friend of his.

Though there was still one thing she couldn't understand. _Why?_ Why had he asked to call Karen Beecher of all people and why did he come to her. _He should have gone to a hospital. Well, I guess I can understand how awkward that might be, "Hi, I'm an international thief and I just got shot, can you help me?'_ But the question of his asking specifically for the people that wanted him behind bars was beyond her.

Just then, Karen emerged from the door way of Raven's room. After revealing Gar's face, she had immediately gone in search of the card that Karen handed her before they parted earlier that evening. She had simply called Karen up, said that 'Kinyago' had been shot, was at her house and was asking for her. Karen just said she'd be there as soon as possible and hung up. 10 minutes later her and Roy showed up at the door and carried Gar to Raven's bed, with her permission of course.

Raven sipped her tea and watched as Karen snapped the latex gloves off and ran her powdery hands through her messy hair.

She pointed to Raven's house phone, "May I?"

Raven nodded, "Sure." She listened as Karen dialled a number and spoke to a man, asking him to come over as soon as possible. Spotting Raven's confused face, Karen hung up the phone and walked over to her, crouching down in front of her and resting her hands on her knees.

"That was one of his friends," Raven looked away, "Sweetie, I know this is quite a shock. He's in there and he's fine, he's talking actually. He asked for you. I'd like to explain but he'd rather do it himself. Roy and I will have to go eventually, but they guy I called should be here soon. Try to get some sleep. Everything will be explained later." Karen stood and offered her hand to Raven and led her to the couch. Raven laid down but didn't close her eyes. She couldn't stop the debate going on inside her.

What seemed to 20 minutes later, the intercom rang. Whoever was supposed to come was here. Karen answered and buzzed him in. A minute later there was a pounding at that door. Karen went to answer it and Raven sat up to see who it was. The large frame of Victor Stone came in through the threshold, Raven's jaw nearly dropped.

"Where is he? God he's such an idiot. Fucking told him, fucking_ told_ him!" His voice was mixed his anger and concern.

"Relax Sparky; he's resting in the bedroom."

"Well, he wont be resting much longer," Victor glanced at Raven and smiled faintly, then he spotted the first aid kit in the kitchen counter and pointed at it, "You better keep that handy, he's gunna need it again when I'm done with him." With that, he barged into the bedroom.

* * *

The pain was fading now. _God I was such a moron. How could I not see that coming?_ Gar laid still on Raven's bed, a large bandage around him stomach. Roy had injected him with morphine and his stomach was numbing. Roy sat in chair at the foot of the bed, nodding off. Just then Victor barged into the room. _Oh shit,_ Gar thought. Victor shook Roy awake and asked him to wait outside. 

With Roy gone, Gar watched as Victor paced at the foot of the bed before sitting down then getting up again.

Finally he came right up to Gar's side, "What the _fuck_ were you thinking? I told you to watch yourself and you get yourself shot? God, you are such a moron!"

Gar smiled weakly, "Nice to see you too Cy."

Victor sighed, exasperated, and pulled the chair up beside the bed, "You're an idiot."

"I've been told."

"Yeah, well you're gunna hear it again. You're an idiot," He sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Shit Gar, you could've died." Gar turned away and looked out the double French doors of Raven's room, out the window beyond.

"But, you're fine now. And that's good," Victor playfully punched him on the cheek, "Good to see you safe grass stain."

Gar smiled, "You too Cy." They both sat in silence before Victor broke it.

"Why'd you come to her?" He asked, the question had been eating him since he heard where he was.

He shrugged, "Her place was the closest, I don't know."

"Well, what I know is you have royally screwed yourself. Now she knows it was you, she'll be furious. I told you, man, not to get involved with her."

Gar covered his eyes with his forearm, "I couldn't help it. Have you seen her? Have you talked to her, how could I not?" Gar sighed and turned to Victor, his green eyes gleaming, he wasn't lying, "She's amazing Cy. She's just… I can't stand to be away from her for 2 hours."

Victor sat back and crossed his arms, "So that's why you stalked her." Gar shook his head and closed his eyes. Victor stood and patted Gar on his bare shoulder; he was only in his shorts, covered up to the waist by Raven's blanket. His clothes were in a black garbage bag on the floor which Victor grabbed before standing by the door.

"I'm gunna send her in here," Gar nodded, eyes still closed, "I brought your clothes in, their outside. I'm gunna have to leave you two here, think you can handle that?" Gar peeked open one eye and raised his eyebrow making Victor laugh, "Okay, okay. Take it easy, she'll watch you. I'll talk to her." Victor walked out the door leaving a half sleeping Gar.

* * *

Raven was awoken by the sound of the toilet flushing. Jolting out of bed she rushed through the French doors into her bedroom only to find an empty bed. Victor spoke to her before he left; he left her in charge of Gar, giving an excuse about there being too much work at the museum that he had to do. Raven knew he just wanted to keep an eye on Jinx and Mikron, she didn't mind the few days off, though she'd have to baby-sit a stupid thief. She still didn't quite understand _why_ he came to her. 

Gar staggered in through the bathroom door. His green eyes, half open, weak and drained, one arm was clutched around his stomach the other was scratching behind his head. He looked up and spotted Raven, in nothing but her silk black thigh-length night gown and him in nothing but his shorts. They both turned away blushing until Gar broke the silence.

"Listen, Rae-"

"Don't call me Rae," her voice was small yet firm, he could tell she was seething with anger. She wouldn't look him in the eye.

"Raven, let me explain," he staggered towards her, using her dresser as a guide.

"What's there to explain, you lied to me. Used me…" He sighed and sat on the bed looking up at her, she leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, still not looking at him.

"I was a kid when I came to the US, stupid, naïve. These two guys took me under their wing and taught me to steal; this was before I got into acting, before the company. I lied, my parents died when I was younger. I was orphaned at 10," he took a deep breath, slowly due to the pain, "I managed to leave those guys, escaped, and bounced around a lot, but I never forgot how. They had me at it for so long, it comes second nature to me. But being raised by my parents, my conscience always got the better of me and I dropped it for a while. Then I started the company. After the fist couple of years, business got boring so I got back in the habit. Never stole money, just art. Never from anyone had who really needed it, and I always returned what I stole. I guess it was just a sort of hobby."

"Sick hobby for bored, rich boys?"

He scoffed weakly, "Yeah. Then a little over a year ago, Karen and Roy caught me and cut a deal. Since I've been a good little criminal, all my charges would be dropped if… If I helped them catch some one more dangerous. So I had to play dangerous elusive thief for a year until he contacted me. Contacted me for help on a job," he looked into her eyes, regret in his, "On the Cleopatra exhibit. Helping to fund it was their idea, dangle a big enough bait and they'll come a biting. Victor's in it too, he's actually FBI, the security man thing's just a cover he's kept over the years."

"So what, taking me out was just a part of _your_ cover?' _Ouch._ That stung her more than she intended, since 4 hours ago, when she found out who he really was, she had thought about it. What she didn't expect was how much it would hurt when she actually said it out loud.

He tried to get up again but fell back on the bed again, sucking in air through his teeth and clenching his stomach with one arm. Raven quickly hurried over and helped his ease himself onto the pillows. When he was settled, he grabbed her hand and stared into her eyes. Eyes not of anger but of sadness, of despair and loneliness.

"No."

The rage found its way around her again, "Then what was I? A bet? A joke? Another notch on your belt? The fucking flavour of the month? You fucking rich boys are all the same." Her eyes started stinging as she tried to get out of his grasp.

"Raven," she struggled some more before the tears started to fall from her eyes. She shut them tight avoiding his relentless gaze.

"I trusted you Gar," her voice was shaky now, gone was the façade of anger, all that was left was the hurt, "And you lied to me. You lied to and all I was to you was some sick joke. The stupid curator who fell for guy who was robbing her!"

"Or maybe it was the stupid guy who fell for the curator he was robbing…" She stopped fidgeting and stared straight into his eyes. The jade orbs now crying out for her to understand, "I told myself I wouldn't. I wouldn't get mixed up with you, but after that lunch… after that lunch, I couldn't. I had to see you again, and again, and again, and again. And I'm sorry, I'm sorry I lied. I just… couldn't blow my cover. And I'm sorry I scared you at the museum, I just… the kiss there… I couldn't help myself… Raven, please understand." His grip loosened and she slipped away, retreating to the door, clutching her wrist with her other hand. She wasn't hurt, not her hand anyways.

"How can I even trust you now?" she whispered, shaking her head. Her voice barely audible, if it weren't for his acute sense of hearing he wouldn't have heard it. As soon as the words left her lips she turned out the door, leaving Gar alone with his thoughts. He shut his won eyes, fighting the tears. He hated seeing her this way; the pain in her eyes was overwhelming, and knowing he caused it hurt more than any bullet wound.

_She fell for me. She said it herself; she fell for the guy who was robbing her. And I went and fell right back._

* * *

"He's out of the picture; everything should go smoothly from here on in." The raspy voice of the man could be heard from the tall back of his chair. He spoke into the phone, no mask on. Another voice could be heard on the other line, his thin lips formed a devious smile. 

"Soon, very soon she shall be too," he said into the phone before hanging up. He swivelled around to face his desk and picked up a black cloth, a mask. His mask. Turning it over, he played with the thin fabric of the mask. It was all black save for the face, which was white, and bore a large red X.

* * *


	20. Magic Bricks

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

* * *

**

Chapter 19 - Magic Bricks

"Ow,"

Raven awoke bit by bit. Her eyes slowly opened as she did her best to stretch in the leather sofa she slept on last night. She felt the dampness of the folded pillow under her head and remembered crying herself to sleep after her 4 in the morning bout with Gar. She haphazardly threw throw off her body and propped herself up on her elbows, peeking over the back of the sofa. There was Gar attempting to cook eggs without a shirt on.

"Ow, motherfuck-, ow!" Unfortunately, he hadn't learned that frying things without a shirt on is a bad thing because when hot oil splatters, it stings. A particularly large splatter hit him on the chest and Raven watched as he clutched it with his hand. Gar tried to set the spatula down but hit his hand on the hot stove instead; he hopped around the kitchenette sucking in air through his teeth and swearing, nearly causing Raven to laugh. That is until she remembered she was mad at him.

She got up and walked around behind him, grabbing the spatula out of his hand, "Let me help you there stud. Try to remember to wear a shirt next time you try frying." She shoved him out of the way and transferred the eggs onto a plate. She also noticed there was already toast and two glasses of orange juice prepared on a tray. _I didn't even know I had those trays._

Gar sucked on the base of his thumb where he had hit the stove, "I was, uh, trying to make breakfast." His eyes were cast down and he looked absolutely adorable. His hair was especially messy and he wore blue red plaid pyjama bottoms with out any socks.

Raven sighed and faced him, "Let me see that," she indicated to his burnt hand. He reluctantly reached out his hand and Raven looked at it, there was a small circular bubble where it had burnt. Raven grabbed a paper towel and dampened it, wrapping it around his hand, "You know for an international thief you're pretty dumb around a stove. You shouldn't even be up."

She let go of his hand and he slowly made his way over to the dining table sitting down, "I, uh, wanted to do something in return. You know, for letting me... I mean for, watching over… for helping me out last night. I know I don't really deserve it."

Raven set the plate of eggs and toast down in front of him along with his glass of orange juice, "You're right you don't." She went back to the kitchen and put a kettle on the stove. There was an awkward silence, Gar sat quietly eating and Raven stood leaning against the counter waiting for her water to boil, tea and mug all ready.

"I promised Victor I'd watch you," she watched her feet and drew circle on the cold tile with her toe, "so you're welcome to stay. But the minu-" She was caught off guard when she looked up to see him in front of her just a foot away. He watched her, eyes intent.

"Yeah, I know. The minute I'm better I'm gone," he took a step, closing the gap. He gently took her cheek in his good hand and brought his face within an inch of hers, "I'm better."

He kissed her. She could very well have done something, slipped away, pushed him, anything. But she didn't despite herself. In her mind all their previous encounters, including the ones with him as the elusive thief played over and over again. He had mesmerised her both in person and as Kinyago, and now wasn't any different. She found herself tilting her head up to the kiss, slowly bringing her arms up to around his neck and her fingers tangling themselves in his messy brown hair. His hands wandered down the length of her silk night gown and resting at her hips. He wasn't forceful, but gentle and persuasive.

He slowly pulled away, keeping their faces close, "Do you still want me to go?" He spoke the words in a whisper, his breath playing on the skin of her lips. Raven gulped and looked into his eyes; they wanted to make her cry. _What the hell is wrong with me? This would be the 2nd time I'm crying today. Snap out of it, he lied to. He's sorry now, but later.._ Thoughts of doubt rolled around her brain. Her heart wanted her to trust him, but her mind was slowly building a wall. They stood there for what seemed like hours.

She nodded, "Yes."

* * *

Victor watched on as Mikron signed the papers confirming the security of the new safety measures the ROM has taken to secure the rest of the Cleopatra exhibit.

"Well, lady and germ, that'll be that. The paper are signed and you have to do is fax it to Mad Moddy back in England. Then you should be expecting yer exhibit in a couple of weeks. Given that the Logan fellow flies with it," Mikron turn to both of them and tipped his hat to Jinx, "And you fair lady, if y'ever decide to visit the Tartans then feel free to drop me a line." He looked Victor up and down and simply grabbed his jacket, swinging around himself to get it on.

"I'm very sorry to leave you like this but, I have more important places I must get a goin' to." He directed the last part to Victor, rubbing it in his face that he was more successful. With that he disappeared through Jinx doors, Victor sighed with relief and grabbed Jinx around the waist quickly spinning her around.

Thank God he's gone. I had half a mind to squish that little bug." Jinx laughed and put a finger to his lips before he leaned in to kiss her, "Hey, what's the deal?"

"I have work to do, Stone, relax," she pulled away from the dumfounded Victor, "Besides, work hard… play harder." She gave him a wink and walked out the door.

* * *

Karen read the paper with one hand and tapped annoyingly on the small coffee table of the van with the other. Roy was leaned back against the wall trying to sleep when he snapped and grabbed her hand mid tap.

"Would you stop that?"

"I can't help it. He got shot Roy, fucking shot. This bastard ain't afraid to kill nobody. I just hope he still thinks 'Kinyago' is still dead. But fuck, he might go after Raven next. She can't be left alone." Roy sighed and pulled out his cellphone, "What are you doing?"

"Telling Gar and Raven to stick together, at least there'll be two of them."

Karen rolled her eyes, "O yeah, a wounded guy can really protect her."

He shrugged, "hey, never underestimate a guy in love." Karen laughed and leaned in.

"You noticed too huh?"

"Noticed? You'd have to be retarded not to. Jesus, why else would he show up at her house of all places. Climbing three floors might not exactly be easy when you've got a bullet wound and just walked, no _staggered_, five blocks. I mean I know he's like one of the most infamous thieves but come on." Karen laughed again.

"But, I wonder how she's taking it."

"I don't know, she's probably killing him. But those late night visit shoul-" Karen cut him off.

"Late night visits? What late night visits?"

Roy gulped, "Uhh, you didn't know he's been visiting her as Kinyago?"

"No, o shit. What if he was followed? They could know where she is."

"Yeah, but this is 'Kinyago' we're talking about, not some dime store pick-pocket. He's eluded us forever for a reason. Hell, the only reason you caught him is becau-"

"Hey, hey. That was a valid catch okay? I _meant_ to do that. We don't need to bring that up again," she crossed her arms and leaned back, "you're right. But then again, we are dealing with Red X. He's not exactly the friendliest thief in town."

Red X, he had quite a reputation. Infamous much like Kinyago but not nearly as noble. He killed whoever got in his way, leaving behind his trademark red x-shaped throwing star where ever he stole. And what ever he took was never found again. Many suspected he worked only for private collectors that paid under the table. Red X was far more dangerous than Kinyago, and INTERPOL would much rather put Red X away and have Kinyago run around playing his pranks rather than have another dead body on their hands. Last night, X's death count almost made 23. Almost.

"We'll get that bastard; the "Magic Bricks of Cleopatra" are far too great a prize for him to pass up."

* * *

**A/N: This was random and premature. For the CyxJinx fans, there's nothing wrong with their relationship, I just got bored of writing sappy stuff for now. I'll explain what "Magic Bricks" are later on.**


	21. This Just In

**Author's Note: Happy 2006 folks! New year, new twist on this tired old story, maybe a few more before I put 'er to bed. Picks up immediately after the last chapter then jumps about3 weeks. It's April now, so relatively warmer and the exhibit opens, if you remember, in early May. The Raven scene is about a week and a half before the shipment comes in. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, The National Examiner, The ROM or Sprite.**

* * *

**Chapter 20 - This Just In...**

Victor walked into his office to find Gar asleep on his couch, one arm slung over his eyes the other protectively around his bullet wound. Victor chuckled as he sat down on his armchair and watched the sleeping thief. His eyes twinkled with amusement as he got an idea. Opening his drawer he took out a white eraser and started to chip away nubs and pieces from it. One by one he pelted the eraser pieces at Gar's sleeping form and snickered as he watched him roll over and fidget in his sleep.

"The fuck?" Gar lifted himself on his elbows and squinted at Victor, who was by now laughing his head off, "Real mature tin man."

"Hey, you came to _my _office unarmed, you have to face the consequences," He chucked the rest of the eraser bits at him, "The hell are you doing here anyway? YOU should be resting, cuz, y'know, you got _shot_ last night."

Gar sighed and sat up straight, brushing bits of eraser from his hair, "She hates me Cy."

"Well, what'd you expect? Her to wrap her arms around you and tell you that she was _glad_ you're an international thief who broke into her pride and joy then held her hostage. Not to mention the stalking."

"Hey, I was _not_ stalking."

"Yeah, it was just constant surveillance by a complete stranger and criminal," he smiled at Gar's angry face and chuckled, "Come on."

"She hates me, I can't stand it. I _had_ to leave, I swear she won't even look at me straight. I can't be in the same building with her let alone the same house. I _had_ to leave."

"So what now?"

"I'm headed to Chicago and I'm gunna wait on that call from the Brits." Victor snapped his fingers and started to rummage through his desk drawer.

"I meant to tell you, we got the OK from the munchkin. He's on his way back to the mother land now," Victor found what he was looking for in the desk and plopped the folder on his desk, "the 2nd half should be here in two to three weeks. Here are the new schematics of the system, in case you wanna test it out yourself."

Gar waved his hand impassively, "Nah, I think I'll be taking time off for a while." His stare blank and far off, he watched outside the window as birds flew around and rested on telephone wires.

Victor leaned his elbows on the table, "taking time off? Since when do _you_ take time off," Gar continued to look out the window, Victor sighed understandingly, "Listen man, I know she was special. And quite frankly, I don't know what to tell you. I'm not sayin' she'll see the error of her ways and come crawling back to you, I'm not sayin' she won't. What I _am_ sayin' is you can't let this get in the way. Not of the assignment, not of your life." Victor saw that he wasn't wining, "You ever heard the expression, 'If you truly love something, set it free. If it comes back to you then it's yours'?"

Gar raised an eyebrow at him, "I think you got that wrong."

"That's not the point." Victor threw his hands up in defeat and leaned back on his chair, propping his legs up on the table.

"Yeah, yeah I know. I just… I just need to get out of here."

"Well, do whatever you want, so long as you do what you need to do."

Gar sighed and looked back out the window, "Yeah, I know."

* * *

_Click, click._ The sharp, hurried sound of Raven's footsteps echoed through the hall. She walked, back straight, chin parallel to the ground, through the future resting place of the exhibit. She walked with conviction, as if she had somewhere to go, but she didn't. It was almost midnight and here she was again walking though the exhibit, peering in occasionally at empty cases. You'd think by now she'd have learned her lesson.

_Click, click._ That and the slow hum of the air conditioning was all that could be heard. It was the beginning of April now; the heat was starting to kick up. She stopped in front of a display case. Not empty.

_**Lapis Lazuli Menat**_

_Found along the eastern bank of the Nile, 23 km North of Cairo._

Her eyes scanned the card over and over again, reading and re-reading the raised black words before reluctantly skimming over the menat itself. It was the same one, the same one that was stolen and the same one that was returned. Slender, ivory white fingers, nicely groomed, rested atop the glass. Lightly her fingers grazed the glass and she let out a soft sigh. _Why?_

She stood there staring not at the menat but, somehow, beyond it; her breathing meshing with the low, drone of the structure at night, the pulse of the city outside its aluminium walls. Small flashes of yellow light shone in through the glass slits in the walls. Subconsciously, her hand reached up and rested around her collar, her nails gently scratching the base of her neck. _Couldn't there have been some other way? Couldn't it have been someone else?_

Her mind unwillingly wandered back to Gar. _Shoulda known better. Who am I that some once could _actually_ fall in love with? Who am I to fall in love?_

This wasn't the first time her thoughts strayed and got away from reason. After the incident in her apartment, Gar left quickly and flew out the same day. It's been weeks now and she heard not a word from him. Everything left her confused. She tried to distract herself with work, so she piled it on. Unnecessary, mindless work, executed with perfection. She sat in her office mulling over small details, some of which wasn't even her own. She planned for the opening, for the public gala, for the press conferences, for the sponsors' ball, for the ads that would run the papers, for the posters that would be put up along highways, on subway walls, bus stops and streetcar interiors. And now with all that done, she had nothing but her and her thoughts.

Once in a while, while signing forms and looking over designs, she would think about him. A brief convulsion of the mind then back to work. She didn't like bringing it up and everyone around her knew not to. At night she would have her cup of tea and unknowingly cry herself to sleep. Why the hell was she acting like this? _I barely knew him. And he lied to me. He used me._ She wanted to forget, but somewhere in the dark recesses of her mind, she didn't. She wanted to forgive him, she wanted him to return and hold her and give her the love she never felt.

But she couldn't bring herself to do so. To pick up the phone and call him, write him, email him, fax him or even speak about him. She didn't understand. Understand why she couldn't just…

Raven hadn't thought about love for along time. It was always an infatuation. Just gas, passing. Never anything serious. But now, it felt like breaking up with her high school sweetheart. Her mind mused on the facts. She replayed the events repeatedly in her mind, wearing them out like old boots. The line that defined right and wrong was blurring. She couldn't decide if she was right, or if he was right with what he did.

So she stuck with anger. Anger was always the easiest to express. It wasn't really an emotion, just a resultant of a brash decision, a reaction to something that didn't go your way, a consequence of shock. Staying angry was simple; feed the fire with small things, bits of kindling memories. The way he laughed, his stupid crooked smile, his annoying jokes. His kleptomania, his twisted sense of reality, his dumb belief in god, in magic, in love. In her head, adoration turned to annoyance, annoyance turned to hate. In her heart, he stayed the same.

And now here she was, staring blankly at a piece of the past. A speck of paper she could have thrown in the fire. But seeing the menat again, everything flooded back. Cold tears streamed down her eyes as flashes of yellow light played against her face. _What happened here?_ Confusion enveloped her as feelings for him and her anger battled it out in her head. An ageless war of passion versus reason. Peering down the clear glass, she looked past the lapis lazuli beads of the menat and saw her eyes reflecting against it. Red around the edges and laden with tears. In them she found only sorrow, passion had won.

She continued to cry, away from the critical eyes of others, away from the 'moral' rationalization of her anger. Though now they were different, no longer cold tears of hatred but hot tears of regret.

* * *

Gar stood outside, bobbing on his toes, wildly swinging his arms back and forth, shaking his head from side to side. He was getting ready; he continued his little ritual like a track runner would do before a race or an actor before a show. He was shit-scared. He stopped and pulled lightly as his hair, checking himself through the dark tint of the glass doors. He wore a black ling-sleeved shirt with darker black Chinese characters dripping from the shoulders and collar, Matrix-style. His fitted, stone-washed jeans and black ankle-high Lugs topped it all off.

Gar massaged his forehead, getting an inviting head jerk from Victor who was grinning like an idiot inside. He gave a 'just-a-minute' gesture and shook himself again. _Okay, just play it cool. Just, act like you're _totally_ over it. Even if your _not!_ Like you weren't thinking about her at all over the past three weeks, instead of the truth, which is every waking moment. Okay she's probably completely over you, so don't look too crushed. _

He was a nervous wreck, three weeks. Three goddamn weeks he hasn't seen her for. It was like slow burning torture. He lived like a paranoid insomniac; he couldn't get her out of his thoughts. No matter how hard he tried, and boy did he try. He went to clubs, read books, watched movies and even went out on two dates. Nothing. She haunted his consciousness and his dreams, the elusive goddess, Raven. And now she was inside, probably entirely together, waiting for him.

He faced the street and ruffled his hair, _Okay, get in there._ He grabbed both his cheeks with his hands and started vocally talking to himself.

"Yeah, it'll be fine. I'm probably over reacting. If I'm lucky, she might not even be there," he nervously squished his cheeks together, pouting his lips and altering his voice, "Better get in there-"

"You're right, you better," the voice startled him and he quickly turned around, cheeks still squished. In front of him stood Raven, wearing her usual grey business attire arms crossed in front of her. She was startled with seeing him again and gave an unexpected subtle jolt. Realising how close they were after he turned around, she took a step back and almost gave in to the tugging at her lips that came as a result of seeing his face.

He on the other hand stood there, like an idiot, in complete shock, forgetting somehow of the awkward pose she found him in. His heart just fluttered at the sight of her, her hair up in a bun and the clean, pressed suit, fitted nicely to her body, and gave her an embarrassed smile.

Raven suppressed a smile and cleared her throat, "That's very… cute, Mr. Logan, but we really are expecting you inside." He quickly lowered his hands and cleared his throat, dumbly nodding like a moron.

"Yes, I supposed we should be going on inside, on account of them not being able to start with neither of us, let alone with both of us gone," he rambled on senselessly and scratched the back of his head in a way that Raven thought was endearing. He then gave her his boyish smile and led her inside to the circus that was the media.

* * *

"Ha, now wasn't that funny, eh bud," Victor gave Gar a friendly slap on the back, which was unexpectedly painful, and laughed nervously. Gar gave him a small smile and rubbed his sore shoulder.

The conference was, in a word, awkward. Despite his nature, Dick had been unusually quiet and most of the talking had been left to Raven, at whom Gar found himself staring at most of the time. Dick came in looking his usual business self and cracked the show open with one of his patented ice breakers, after that he slunk into obscurity, only returning every so often to answer questions on budget.

Raven was spectacular. With the obvious absence of Dick's usual charisma she stepped up and took the reigns. She answered all the questions concisely and with professional accuracy. She didn't bother going off on tangents like Dick usually did and never stuttered as Gar would have. Even when asked about the safety of the exhibit in the wake of the break in last month and her personal response regarding the thieves, she kept her cool.

Although one question did throw her off. It was the last question of the day and she chose a peculiarly quiet little man in the corner. He hadn't asked any questions previously so when his little hand shot up she happily obliged, not knowing the flood of embarrassment that would follow.

"_Now sorry ladies and gentlemen, but that's all the time we have for questions today, so this'll be the last one," she gave the crowd a small smile and pointed to the small man, "Yes?" _

_He got a wicked smile on his face and stepped up, raising his voice, "Yes, Miss Roth, what of the alleged affair you're having with one of your cosponsors, Garfield Logan. Is there any truth to those rumours? Are those wedding bells we hear fast approaching?" Raven was struck speechless, she stood at the podium eyes gaping, mouth opening and closing like a fish. The volume of the crowd rose as photographers frantically took pictures of Gar and Raven's shocked faces. The civilian pack began to hoot and holler, some women even called out obscenities like "You lucky bitch", "I hear she's pregnant" and "He's so HOT!"_

Needless to say that both parties were thoroughly embarrassed and were blushing furiously. Dick noticed the panic and decided to step in there and break up the commotion. He managed to get the mass to calm down and emphasised the inappropriateness of the question. Dick and Victor expertly wrangled the media away while Jinx herded a very stricken Gar and Raven away from the cameras.

Now Vic and Jinx both brought Gar and Raven into Raven's office in attempt to blow the situation over. Raven made her way around her desk and sat down, eyes still bulging.

Gar stood at the window and stared outside before, "How the hell did they even find out?" Jinx and Victor looked at each other, giving each other nods and nudges, "Spill Cy."

Victor threw his hands up in his defence and took out a paper from his back pocket and unfolded it on the desk. Raven stood over it while Gar walked over. Spread over two pages of the National Examiner were blurry, enlarged pictures of them skating, having dinner, walking down the sidewalk laughing, having coffee and even several snaps ofthe intimate moment that happened in Raven's lobby.

"That came out yesterday, when you flew in. The page before is talking about the exhibit, but someone managed to spot you guys together and took pictures," Jinx reluctantly explained.

Raven shook her head, "It doesn't make any sense. If they had these pictures for a while why didn't they print them sooner?"

Victor shrugged, "Well, with Gar's return and the rapidly approaching opening of the exhibit, it was just the right time." Everyone was quiet for a moment until Gar stormed out looking very angry. He murmured a quick, "I'll be back," and then left leaving a very confused Victor and Jinx with a seething Raven.

* * *

"You did it didn't you, you fucking bastard?" Gar whispered to Dick. Dick stared at Gar through his glasses and put a hand to cover his phone.

"Gimme a minute Gar, I'll talk to you later," he was about to turn back to the phone when Gar grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.

"No, you'll talk to me now." Gar kept his voice lowered and calm due to the fact that there were still reporters scattered around the lobby, many with ears locked and pencils poised. Dick mumbled something into his phone before putting it away and fully turning to Gar.

"What the hell are you talking about," Dick pulled him into an empty hallway.

"Oh right, we wouldn't want the tabloids thinking there's disagreements between us, but it's perfectly fine for you to sell out my private life not to mention Raven's." Gar was having trouble controlling his temper and his voice rose ever so slightly.

Dick nodded, smiling at his own genius, "Okay okay, hurray for you, you figured it out. I sold out your dates with Raven. But come on, could you blame me? It's free publicity, now people who never gave a shit about some exhibit have their ears perked and are looking out to catch a glimpse of the new happy couple. Face it Gar, any name romantically attached to yours is a goldmine."

Gar shook his head and dragged his hand down his face, frustrated, "Dick, you sold me out. We're not even together anymore! And how in the fuck did you even get those pictures? Do you have people following me?" Gar was shouting in his face now, "And what about Raven? Do you have people fucking following her too?" There was worry on his face, why hadn't he noticed that he was being tailed, he should have sensed it. He was so caught up being in the presence of Raven that everything else was turned off. _What if they caught me fulfilling my 'night duties'?_ Dick just waved him off.

"No, don't be stupid, Gar. Remember when you two first met? That lunch by Sara's, yeah. Before that Raven rejected me and I saw her talking to you so I figured why not? Might be interesting," he chuckled, "And boy was it. Ain't she hot, huh? Too moody for my taste though. But let me tell you, got a fine pair a legs on her. Almost regret losing her, at least I got to bang her one more time." Gar's jaw clenched and he closed the gap between the two men.

"You're a fucking liar, Grayson. You're a fucking delusional liar," he spat in his face, hoping that Dick was bluffing. Dick simply smirked at him and took of his glasses, revealing his steel blue eyes. Cold and emotionless, they were silvery blue, almost white. They bore in to Gar's jade orbs and glistened with arrogance, daring Gar to do something.

"Yeah, I fucked her, long and dirty. Y'know, when you were gone in England for two weeks? Right after those two bastards broke into the museum. She came to me for a little… comfort." Right then something snapped, Gar grabbed Dick shoulders and slammed him against the wall.

"You're a fucking disrespectful son of a bitch, Grayson. Don't _ever_ talk about her like that again, you hear me you bastard?" Dick just smirked at his brushed him off, easily removing Gar's grip from his shoulders.

"Relax, _Garfield_, she's old news now, a second hand bitch. But you better watch that temper and don't _ever_ talk to me like that again, got it," still smirking, he straightened out his suit and walked down the hall, shouting behind his back, "Besides, I thought you two were 'over'?"

Gar stood there, breathing heavily and leering at the back of a laughing Dick's head.

* * *

Gar stormed back to Ravens office, swinging the door so hard it almost came off its hinges. Shocked, Jinx turned to Victor who quickly dragged him from the room.

"Yo, what's up, man?" Victor held Gar by the shoulders at arm's length. He just looked at the floor and avoided Vic's worried gaze, "Come on man, look at me. What's your deal?"

"Nothing." Gar bit back defensively, he shifted from foot to foot angrily.

"Nothing my ass."

"It's nothing; I just need to talk to Raven."

"What about?" He finally stopped moving and shoved his hands into his pockets, still avoiding Vic's looks.

He sighed and gave in, "I found out that Dick sold out our pictures to that tabloid, goddamn publicity whore."

"Okay, see, that's good. Getting the anger out slowly, methodically. No need to go barging into Raven's office and distressing her even more. You know that the Gala is this weekend?"

"Course I know. Who's she going with, _Dick_?" Gar spat his name venomously gaining looks from Victor, "She fucking _slept_ with him, Cy."

Gar made his way down the hall to the lobby and Victor chased after him, "Who? She slept with Dick? Raven slept with Dick?"

Gar stopped for a moment to glare at him, "Yeah, right after the robbery."

Victor nodded, "So this is what it's really about. And I suppose you're upset?"

"Upset? Upset, I'm livid! How could she do that to me? I didn't do anything to her-"

"Y'know, other than deceive her and rob her that same night."

"Shut up, Cy."

"I'm just sayin' you should just make up and call it even, you'd have to be blind or retarded to see that you two are miserable apart. But on a lighter note, kinda, Bee and Roy wanna see you."

"What for?"

"They wanna talk about what happened, you know 'cuz after you got shot, you kinda bolted. They couldn't reach you, or leave Toronto to go look for you, nor could they trust someone else with the intimate details of this case so they just had to wait for you to come back."

Gar sighed, not having any other choice, "Fine, where are they?"

Victor stopped and whispered into Gar's ear, "Meet them at the white van outside the Museum exit." Victor was talking about the subway station Museum which was just outside the East entrance of the old structure. Gar nodded, making his way out of the building.

* * *

Jinx sat across the desk from Raven they both looked at each other in silence. Gar had just burst in and was forced out by Vic; the two women were left behind to contemplate what just happened. Raven's head was still propped up on her hands and the paper lay open between them.

"What the hell was that," Raven broke the silence, and they both laughed.

Jinx shook her head, "I have no idea. But seriously, how'd you take that question back there?" Raven shrugged, rose and walked over to the mini fridge behind her desk, pulling out a can of Diet Sprite. She stood there half sitting, half leaning on the mini fridge.

"It was extremely unexpected, but I guess that was stupid of me. I mean you don't date a famous millionaire who's one of the world's most eligible bachelors without having a few paparazzi following you around."

"But, it's not over. Is it? I mean, you guys were pretty hot," Raven gave her a glare that could freeze hell over, "Oh come on, you guys were all over each other. Don't even look at me like that 'cuz you were practically glowing after that first lunch."

Raven looked down at her Sprite can and played with the tab, blushing, "Yeah, but… things happened."

"What could possibly be so bad that you can't forgive the poor guy? Come on Rae, you saw him prepping himself to just face you today. Then you had to be mean and go out there and tease him."

Raven rolled her eyes, "I wasn't teasing, we needed him to come inside."

"Whatever. Alls I'm sayin' is you ain't perfect either, babe. So what ever he did, so long as it isn't a mortal sin, like murder, it's forgivable. You could just hold this over his head for the rest of your lives so when _you_ fuck up you can call it even."

Raven took a long sip of her drink and thought Jinx's words over. It was as if she knew the situation exactly. What Gar did wasn't exactly unforgivable; it was all in the good name of the law after all. He was on side of the good guys; he wasn't technically a criminal in the true sense of the word. Not to mention what _she_ did, she went behind his back and slept with Dick that time. If Gar found out about that, then all hell would break loose.

Her lips formed a smile against the rim of the can, "You're right."

Jinx pretended not to hear, savouring the moment, "Excuse me? Sorry I didn't hear you."

"You. Are. Right. Okay? You're right."

Jinx grinned like a Cheshire cat, "See babe, that's what I like to hear. Now," She leaned in still grinning from ear to ear, "Let's talk about the Gala."

* * *

Gar crawled into the small space on the back of Roy and Karen's white van. The smell of cheap Chinese food and coffee lingered in the hot air. A small, handheld fan was propped up was circulating the dank air, the small coffee table was covered in papers that they quickly shoved away as Gar came in. The generic eye, bee and 'M' were floating around the screen of Karen's laptop. Gar took a seat beside Roy, while Karen leaned in chewing gum and popping it while staring Gar down.

"Well then, Mr. Logan, Garfield, 'Gar', Kinyago. Would you like to explain that little hissy fit you threw?"

"It wasn't a hissy fit, I needed a break," Gar didn't feel like friendly chit chat. He was pissed of as it was and he didn't need some over glorified cop breathing down his back, nor did he have the patience for it.

"In case you didn't know, Gar, you are aiding INTERPOL in an investigation. And if you forgot, this was your deal breaker. You help us put Red X away and you're free to go, you're cleared of all charges and you could start your new, _clean_ life over. So, as of right now, no impromptu vacations, 'kay rich boy?" Gar gave her an angry glare and reluctantly nodded.

"Good, now what the _fuck_ happened that night?"

"I got shot."

"Great, thanks, I didn't know that. Now just talk."

"Fine," he took a long sigh and recalled the night he met with death and was bitch-slapped back to life, "He called to meet at the roof of the old Redpath Sugar Refinery round eleven. Then the bastard shot me."

"What," it was the first time Roy had talked, "He just pulled out a gun and shot you?"

"No, he brought out a big guy, then said something along the lines of, 'We're finished, I don't need you anymore' blah blah blah. BLAM! Shot me. By the way, what'd you get from the bullet?"

Roy pulled out a small Ziploc bag with a small squished piece of metal in it and threw it on the table. Gar picked it up and looked at it.

".44 magnum revolver. Pretty generic, every Tom, Dick and Harry that wants to 'protect his family' has one those in his house. Virtually untraceable."

"Was it close range?" asked Karen.

"No, he was a good 5 meters away."

"That explains why you're still alive. But why the hell would he just completely fuck you over like that?" Karen rested her chin on her fist, it didn't make any sense.

"Guess he didn't need me anymore."

Roy cut in, "But why? Who did he get? Mammoth? The fuck is that shit-for-brains gunna do? Try force entry?"

Karen shook her head, "No, not his style. I mean he's no you Kinyago, he can't pinpoint the weaknesses of a security system like you can. But he's no mafia muscle, he's not gunna go barging in there like the fucking cavalry."

"Yeah, that's why he needed me, he had no in."

"He found someone else," Gar and Karen looked at Roy, "He's found another source of information. He got someone who isn't a threat like another thief."

Karen's eyes widened with realisation, "He's got a bystander."

**

* * *

A/N: Hehe, there was a lot of swearing in this chapter, don't really know why. I didn't like it much either, the only part I liked was Raven's little soliloquy, everything else felt rushed. Probably 'cuz I'm really excited about the Sponsor's Gala. And I'm not making this up, museum openings do have this, it isn't just some excuse to put them in a ball-type setting. **

**Dick's a real ass in this chapter and I hope you got the whole "looking ath the back of Dick's head" bit... Yes it was immature to bring that up but I had to. **

**Also they finally acknowlegde that they're really after Red X and he's not exactly the friendly neighbourhood thief that's in the show, he's more of a maniacal bastard.**


	22. An Eye For

**Author's Note: There's a longer one to come…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, Holt Renfrew or the concept design of the dresses… well for the most part.**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 21 - And Eye For...**

Jinx sat in the control room and watched the monitors. It was moderately quite today, after the press conference, everyone had cleared out and just the approved movers were up and about, setting the new exhibits in their displays. No unexpected visitors today, yet somehow, she was glued to the screens.

Raven walked in carrying a clipboard and chewing on the back of her pen, "Hey Jinx, can you sign this?" she looked up to see Jinx intently watching the screens, "What's so interesting? Hey, you watching porn back there?"

Jinx laughed and leaned back on her chair, crossing her legs, "No, but you still have to see this." She pointed to a small figure on the screen wearing a black shirt and jeans. It was Gar.

"It's Gar. Get this; he's been walking around the room spotting all of the cameras." Raven leaned in to see that he was staring directly at the camera; he then moved on walking nonchalantly and disappeared off the screen, reappearing on another screen. This camera was another angle on the same section of the hall. He looked up and on his first try, found the camera.

"He's really good; he's found all of them so far. Even the cleverly hidden ones in the display cases and as bolts in the wall," they watched as the tiny figure leaned over a display case, his head popped in another screen; the hidden camera for that display. Hidden cameras were only with the most expensive of the collection. Gar smiled, mouthed something then moved on.

"What the hell was that? Did you catch what he said?" She looked down at a lay out map in front of her, "Camera 46, that's disguised as a gem in the jewellery display, the actual jewellery is on a silken pedestal which bottom is covered in faux gems in which said camera is hidden. What was he saying?"

"Um, I don't know Jinx, but I really do need to brush up on my lip reading."

Jinx brushed of her sarcastic comment, "Is he counting? Yes he is, he's counting! What is he doing?"

Raven shrugged, "Victor probably told him where they are and he's just checking them and messing with you." Despite her reaction, she was surprised. She knew he was a thief, but until now, how big and good a thief he was never really sunk in.

Jinx sat smiling, impressed, "Nope," she shook her head, "Vic didn't place the cameras. I did, we had a deal; after the break in I got to place the new cameras and no one but me would know where they were. Not even him. All he knows is that there are 81 total cameras."

Raven's eyebrows rose, "Wow." They both watched in awe as he peered into another display case with a hidden camera, smile and wink at them teasingly before mouthing another word, '47'.

"Bastard," whispered Jinx, "Well, what ever it his cash, he can do what ever the hell he likes," she quickly spun on her chair and faced Raven, "So, what's that?"

Raven showed the clipboard to her and handed her the pen, "Nothing, it's another copy of the recipient form from The British Museum. I don't understand why they're sending so frikkingmany." Jinx quickly signed the dotted line; her signature was a big and bubbly 'J. Hagge'.

"They wanna be careful, I guess. But whatever. Hey, by the way, I know you don't want to talk about the Gala, but…"

"Oh please Jinx, the Gala's not 'til Saturday and its only Thursday. I think you have enough time to pick out a dress."

Jinx smiled and brushed her off, "I'm not talking about me, I picked out a dress months ago… I'm talking about you." She winked causing Raven to raise her eyebrow. She should have seen this coming, Jinx was probably her closest friend at work since she was the only other woman with a position of power. Raven didn't make friends easily but Jinx was persistent to get a new girlfriend.

Jinx got up and walked in a circle around Raven, eyeing her up and down, "Baby, you got a lot workin' for ya. I'm sure we can make that rich pretty boy of yours come a-crawlin'." She giggled and pinched Raven's ass, causing her to jump and smack Jinx's arm.

"For your information, I _have_ a dres-"

Jinx stopped, gave Raven a knowing look and crossed her arms, clicking her tongue in her cheek, "Rae, you are not wearing that Chinese collared black dress again."

"It's a nice dress." It _was_ a nice dress, sleek, no-nonsense conservative. It came to just an inch above her knee and was black silk with a sheen design of an Asian floral pattern in a slightly lighter black, dark grey silk. It was sleeveless, the edges coming to a focal point at the traditional Chinese style collar. To top off the Asian motif, she wore her hair up I a bun, neat and clean, held together with two red chopsticks. The dress showed minimal amount of skin only at her arms and that was it.

"And I'm sure it makes you look like a nice girl, but Sister Sue ain't invited to the party," Jinx came up behind Raven and bunched up her hair, pulling it up into a messy bun and holding it with her hand, "But Raven is."

Raven sighed and pulled Jinx away, "But I don't have other formal dresses."

Jinx excitedly clapped her hands and jumped in the air, "Great! We're going shopping. Tomorrow, after work, by the way you're taking an early day tomorrow. Meet me here around one and we're outta here." She quickly sat down and faced the computer, furiously typing away.

"That's it?"

"What else do you want? Now shoo, I have to do tomorrow's work today."

"How do you know _I_ don't have work?"

"Pssh, please, you finished all your work 'til next month," Jinx continued typing on the computer occasionally glancing at the monitors, then she did a double take, "Man, he's still at it."

Raven peered over her shoulder at the monitor. She saw Gar lean in close to a display and mouth another word, '56'. There were 81 cameras in total and he was almost done. Her gaze wandered to a couple of movers carry crates with red 'fragile' stamps on them.

"Hey Jinx," Jinx nodded her acknowledgement, "what are those?" Raven pointed to the crates the men were carrying.

"Those? They're the Magic Bricks of Cleopatra. Last things to be unpacked today, if you hurry you might catch them doing it." Raven smiled, gave Jinx an affectionate smack on the head with the clipboard and headed out the door.

* * *

Raven hurried down the hall, first passing by her office to drop off the clipboard, then onto the wing where they unloading the Magic Bricks. The bricks themselves were packaged in fourindividual crates and other trinkets that came along with them were in one long one. As she entered she saw standing over the men, hands clasped behind his back was Garfield. The men were prying the crates open with crowbars, moving aside the hay and lifting up the protective metal casing that each brick were in. She hoped he'd done steaming and approached. 

"Do you know the history of these?" Gar turned around and glanced at her. He crossed his arms then turned to the front again.

"I heard a thing or two about them," he turned to her, who was beside him now, and gave her a smile, "But I bet an expert Egyptologist could tell me more about it."

Raven dove right in, letting her self get carried away in the familiar world of Ancient Egypt, "Magic bricks were implemented during the New Kingdom, which is around 1550-1070 BC. They placed in tombs and used as sort of charms against the enemies of the god Osiris, who was the central deity in Egyptian mortuary rituals, the God of the Dead. They were positioned at the four cardinal points of the tomb, North, East, West, South, resting in niches in the wall. An amulet was set in each brick, standing so it faced the opposite wall. Each brick was inscribed with page 151 of the book of the dead; it's a spell that offers the protection of the four sons of Horus, each amulet, or 'son', with a specific way of protecting the deceased."

They both watched as the first of the four bricks were individually removed from their metal casings, each metal box was filled with a grey Styrofoam to hold the pieces in place. The first brick was revealed, showing a small golden brick. A small pillar, 3 inches high, half an inch wide all throughout, it had four horizontal ridges on one side two inches wider than the pillar was imbedded in its centre.

"That's the west brick. It holds a faience _djed_ pillar, amulet that represented stability and endurance. The backbone of Osiris."

A second brick was taken out. It was also completely golden, with a small gold statue of a jackal or dog figure. The effigy was very detailed; the ears were perked up to a point and bore a collar with very fine onyx stones imbedded in it.

"That's the East brick; it bears the figure of Anubis, the jackal god. He looked over the mummification process and was protector of the necropolis, the place of the dead."

The third brick held the golden statuette of a small Egyptian man. It looked very much like the stereotypical image of an Egyptian sarcophagus, only smaller. The statue was adorned with jewels, gems and precious stones. Like its brothers, the brick was made of gold.

"The North brick. That little man is called a _shabti_. Shabti are the most common objects in wealthy Egyptian tombs. As a person enters the afterlife, it was believed that the shabti were to come to life and do their labours for them. Therefore, the more shabti you have the less work you have to do. Same goes in this context, the shabti were the deceased's slaves to command."

The final brick was uncovered. The usual golden brick was there, its amulet was a tall stick-like golden rode about nine inches high, also gold.

"The final brick, South. That's a reed there, to hold a torch. It was meant to burn the path of those who came to harm the deceased. What's special about these particular magic bricks were not only are they completely gilded in gold, but also they were found in Cleopatra's tomb. Cleopatra was born at 69 BC and died at 30 BC, far after the New Kingdom. Tutankhamen also had these in his tomb but not quite as glamorous. The legend is that Cleopatra loved her people so that she insisted on a traditional Egyptian burial, complete with a curse. The curse was entitled in these bricks and where so ever her body, her mummy, is taken, they go too so as to not disturb the curse." Raven had ended in a solemn whisper.

The entire time she spoke, Gar watched her intently. He saw the joy in her eyes as she described the history of the artefacts and saw her every time a new one was revealed. She looked like a kid in a candy store, and she was so beautiful. She began to walk towards the display case as the men placed the bricks down and set the alarm code, he followed.

"They're beautiful aren't they," she turned to him and caught his stare. He blushed and looked away, nodding.

"Yes, yes they are. Quite expensive and rare as well. These may be the most precious things in this exhibit, next to the mummy itself. But, they're small and movable, unlike the mummy," he turned to her, his face serious, "Easier to steal."

She almost scoffed, "You would know, wouldn't you?" Dammit, why couldn't she stop? She turned to him and saw his jaw clench. He looked her straight in the eyes and she saw a flash of frustration. _If that's the way she wants to play, fine. I can take a hint._ He quickly turned away and walked down the hall, arms still crossed, shaking his head.

She watched him saunter away and bit her lip. _Great, I just had to ruin everything didn't I? I couldn't just leave well enough alone._ She scolded herself and turned her gaze back towards the bricks. They gleamed under the white halogen lights; the blood red silk reflected the gold as they each sat majestically on their own separate pedestal. Raven sighed as she prayed to Isis, goddess of love.

* * *

"Come on Rae, out!" Jinx sat on the brown leather armchair in the dressing room of Holt Renfrew. She had insisted on the best, after all, it was Gar Logan trying to impress. He could probably buy this place five times over. Beside her lay several dresses, three of which Raven had already tried on and rejected. 

"No!" Raven shouted from the inside of the booth, the door muffling her voice.

"Aw, come on, if you don't come out how can I possibly decide if you should buy it or not."

"_You're_ not paying for it Jinx, _I_ am."

Jinx laughed and shook a finger, "Now, now Rae, that's for me to decided not you. Remember?" They had asked for a private dressing room at Holt Renfrew and were treated with a room full of mirrors with nothing but the brown leather couch and a booth. Many times had Raven tried to talk Jinx out of this but, by brute strength alone, Jinx won and practically dragged Raven here.

Jinx glanced over at the row of rejected dresses. The first of which was an orange, pink and red dress, the colors combined in swirls that reminded her of melted oranger, raspberry and strawbery sherbet mixed together. It was sleeveless and was cut in an angle from mid-thigh to just below the knee coming down in slight waves. The sleeves were in large ruffled waves also, Jinx squealed when she saw it on Raven but Raven just turned right back around and changed.

The second dress was far more edgy. It was black, ribbed tightly horizontally and was a sort of fitted tube going from above her breasts to the middle of her thighs. So fitting it was almost constricting. It had looked like many tiny black snakes had gotten a hold of her and wouldn't let go, it even restricted her walking. Raven emerged and argued with Jinx about how she couldn't breathe or walk, then Jinx murmured something about the dress accentuating her curves, and like that Raven was back in the changing booth.

The last one was a red cocktail dress very much like the one Marilyn Monroe wore in "The Seven Year Itch" and it infamous scene with the Manhattan subway grate, only more revealing. It had a swooping neck and was backless; the back came to a downward point and its length came down to mid-calf. Raven had actually liked this one were it not for one thing, it was red. They argued for what seemed like hours until Raven finally gave up and ran back into the booth.

"Anytime now Rae-Rae." Jinx heard her grunt at the nickname and the latch unhinge. Out stepped Raven in a long black flowing gown that was more revealing than what it seemed first glance. It was long and came close to her ankles, but as she turned Jinx saw that it was split on both sides, all the way up her thigh to her waist so that with every step she took, everyone got a nice flash of her legs. As she continued to turn she showed it was backless and came down pretty low on her backside, low enough to reveal the downward raven tattoo on her lower back. Jinx whistled as Raven did one more twirl. It was amazing how the dress held up, from a very low neckline it came up but not around her neck but back down her back by her shoulder blades, connecting with fabric under her arm and along her side. It was revealing in terms of her back, neck and thighs, but she was pretty covered other than that. And plus, it was black.

Raven grinned and stood, shot at the hip, arms crossed, in front of Jinx, who was smiling huge, "Girl, if that ain't the one, then I give up and I'm going home."

"I think I'll have to agree with you, Jinx, finally." Jinx stood up and clapped her hands.

"Okay, now for accessori-"

Raven shook her head, "Nuh uh, I've got my own ideas now. Besides, you only said 'dress'."

Jinx reeled back smiling and threw her hands up, "Fine, fine. Boy, let me tell you," she leaned in and whispered, "You are going to give that rich boy a run for his money." Raven turned around and headed for the booth again, that's when Jinx slapped her butt and winked at her.

"And when the hell did you get that sick tattoo?"

* * *

**A/N: This is a long author's note, I have to explain some things. ****The title refers to the line 'An eye for shopping', referring to Jinx and Raven's escapade and Gar's 'eye' or intuition for security details.**

**Most of what Raven says about the Egyptian burial rites and the magic bricks are completely true, including their descriptions and intended meanings. As for Cleopatra having them, that's an out and out lie. Cleopatra's remains though are actually at the British Museum, that much is true. I don't know why I used the idea of magic bricks and not something simpler and more transportable, it just sort of came out. **

**Okay, the dresses here were all paying homage to something else. I know, I know, I suck at describing dresses and this was a very shoddy attempt. The first frilly dress was a salute to both my friend who wore something like it to our semiformal, and Starfire who has been seriously lacking in this fic. But not too worries, she'll be here. **

**The second was a salute of Frank Miller's Sin City, the special DVD of which I had recently acquired. It resembles the dress which 'Goldie' wore, I don't think it was very clear in the movie but in the graphic novel, it's on the first page. **

**The third dress was yet again to Sin City and the film noir genre, of which I am an avid fan, and there's the obvious reference to the infamous Marilyn Monroe picture. It supposed to be a cross between that and the dress the girl that the Salesman, Josh Hartnett, kills. **

**The last was a nod to Raven's actual costume in the comic book, albeit more revealing. As was the tattoo on her lower back, which might I say is very hot? **

**That's it for me. I updated my profile entailing the afore mentioned dresses and locations, except my friend's dress.**

**BTW not counting what I say on my author's notes or what's on my profile, if you had to judge by my writing, would think I was a girl or guy?**


	23. So, Can You Dance?

**Author's Note: Sorry for the overdue update. Exams and all, I had four. Anyways, after that I had to post this in the middle of the frikkin night cuz for some reason the Document uploader wasn't working for me. Any ways, this is long so I hope it makes up for. And I also wrote another oneshoe, just for fun. Check it out, called _The Scene._**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, Atlantis, or any of the music and quotes used, too noumerous and redundant to name.**

* * *

**Chapter 22 - So, Can You Dance?**

_**"The rumba is the vertical expression of a horizontal wish. You have to hold her, like the skin on her thigh is your reason for living. Let her go, like your heart's being ripped from your chest. Throw her back, like you're going to have your way with her right here on the dance floor. And then finish, like she's ruined you for life."** _- Paulina, _Shall We Dance  
_

Raven anxiously sat on top of kitchen counter, gripping the edge with both her hands, arms straight down her sides. She was as stiff as a corpse. Her tea sat beside her, silently cooling as Raven remained perfectly still. She moved her palms against the counter, slick and sweaty against the smooth surface of the counter. _Why am I so god dammed anxious?_

Raven jumped down from the counter, jolting a bit from the shock of the hardwood against her bare feet. She prodded onwards, walking on her toes to the far window of her apartment. The city looked as it always looked, buzzing with social activity. She could almost see it now, night bird just rising. People who wouldn't be caught dead walking along downtown in the daylight suddenly alive and awake at night, prowling the streets looking for a good time. During the day, the city was filled with business-type people like herself. At night it was filled young teens escaping their homes, headed to clubs to ensue in under-aged drinking rituals. She sighed at looked up at the sky. Dark, cloudy. _Perfect, looks like its gunna rain._

She was already wearing the dressed picked out yesterday with Jinx. After their escapade, they to one of Jinx's favourite haunts along Bloor St, a salon. There they spent the rest of the day and most of the night, getting nails, hair and all else done. Raven smiled and looked down at her freshly manicured nails; it was nice to be pampered once in a while. They had been done in deep carmine red which was done entirely without her consent.

Now the rest of her had to go with her nails. Not being one to go big with the makeup, Raven kept it toned down with a bit of blush, so as to not look so pale in front of cameras, eyeliner and light eye shadow. To top it all off, crimson lipstick to match her nails. The contrast of the red was so different that it drew attention to her lips, making them appear fuller. Around her neck, Raven wore the single piece of jewellery that really meant anything to her, a small dark red stone in the shape of a diamond. It was given to her by her mother before passing away. She told her it was garnet, a special stone that represented passion and courage. It would help her whenever she felt lonely by attracting people to her, and was also a charm for good luck in business and in life. It was to bring balance to the wearer. Raven hardly believed her mother's ramblings and scarcely wore it, save for special occasions. Now felt like a special enough occasions. Overall, Raven felt wonderfully understated.

_Then why am I so restless?_ Raven backed away from the window and went back to the kitchen, taking a sip of her now lukewarm tea. Moving on from there she headed to her room, and then came back out through the French doors facing back out the window again. _Jesus, I'm acting like a caged animal._

But, truly, she knew why she was so eager. It wasn't because of the masses of people waiting to congratulate her on a wonderful job, it wasn't the press pushing and shoving each other to get a picture of her as if she were some movie star. It wasn't even the 'impromptu' speech she was to give during dinner. It was the damned dance floor. Of course _she_ would be expected to dance at least once. This was the one concern she hadn't voiced to Jinx knowing full well that if she knew, Jinx would use all of her power to get Raven on the dance floor.

Oh yea, and that bastard millionaire, Gar Logan. He would be there. No doubt after their last meeting, he would have a date. And here she was playing third wheel on Jinx and Victor. She sighed and walked over to the sofa and plopped down, causing her shoes beside her to jump a little. She decided to wear black knee-high boots with heels that were none too high.

Raven sighed as she closed her eyes and tried not to think about the up coming Gala. She had already spent all day napping and reading books in the bath trying to distract her self from tonight. Neither worked very much, she got very little sleep and all the subjects of her books seemed to refer to some romantic interlude. Completely fed up, Raven threw in the towel and went outside for a jog. She had gotten all the way across the city before she realised she had to get home and get ready for the very thing she was trying to get off her mind.

And now she was here. Uneasily awaiting-

_Ring!_

_Finally!_ Raven jumped up and ran to the phone sitting on the counter and picked it up after one ring.

"Hey…sure thing… Be there in a sec." Raven hung up the phone, placing back on its cradle, ran back to the couch to put her shoes on and headed out the door. Doing a double take she ran back into her apartment, into the washroom, grabbing a travel-pack of mouthwash and headed out the door again, swiping her sequined purse on the counter along the way.

* * *

Gar Logan sat in VIP table at the head of the room. He looked around at the crowd, impressed. It seems like every person in the city had come out for this one. He yawned and took a sip of his whiskey on the rocks; Galas such as this one bored him to hell. How many of these had he attended when he got rich, all but the first one were dull. It was always the same, smile, be polite, eat dinner, schmooze, dance, go home. _Repeat._

The banquet hall they chose was also very nice. It was called the Atlantis Pavilion and set in the middle of Ontario Place. It was a hall suspended in midair above the water. The current room they were in was called the Deluge, it had a wonderful panoramic view of the city and the harbour, where underwater lights shone for effect, with its 30 –foot high floor to ceiling windows. It was like floating over the water on a crystal. Gar turned his gaze upwards and saw the mezzanine above them. Up there was a bar and a few table, a quiet place to chat and get away from the crowd. He made a mental note of that for later on when his presence was no longer required.

The VIP table was right near the dance floor which gave him, Dick and a few other sponsors the perfect view of the front entrance. Right now as the crowd was making their way in, the lights were on full, filling the room with brilliant white light. He scanned around the room again and saw that the crowd of 30 had now doubled and no doubt that pretty soon it would be full.

He saw a suave Mr. Grayson greeting people as they came in. even now, 8 o clock at night; he still wore his trademark glasses. He was doing his usual thing, playing it up to the media, posing for pictures and shaking hands. Suddenly, Dick's great head swung around and turned to Gar. Gar took one more swig of his whiskey, wiped his mouth with the back of his mouth and got up, straightening his suit jacket and rolling his head around, getting ready to be social

* * *

Raven took a long deep breath before stepping out the door. Vic and Jinx were already out there, ahead of her. In front of her the valet boy sat in the driver's seat, peering at her through the rear-view mirror. Probably thinking why she wasn't moving. Raven swallowed her pride and stepped out of the car. She was hit instantly with camera flashes as the press yelled questions at her. Most of which were inappropriate comments and questions about her and a certain millionaire. She just smiled politely over her shoulder, pretending not to hear them. 

Sighing her relief to be away from the media, Raven stepped into the large hall. _Perhaps I spoke too soon..._ All heads whipped around and all eyes faced Raven. _Oh God, not a grand entrance. What did I do to deserve this?_ Sure enough, everyone had stopped what they're doing to watch the curator walk down the steps. Raven groaned, smiling, and thought about how fairy-tale this all felt. She blushed lightly and a small smiles and nods to people she was passing on the wide stairs. Her hands became sweaty as one clutched the handbag in front of her and the other held her dress up so she didn't step on it. Time seemed to slow down and she felt as if she were walking in Jell-O, she concentrated on each step she took making sure not to trip and fall on her face.

She looked down and saw Jinx grinning like an idiot and giving her a wink. Vic's eyes shifted to the side momentarily causing Raven to look where he had indicated. It was Gar, he was standing with Dick, a small whiskey glass was in his hand and a shocked expression was on his face. And just like that, as quickly it began, everyone resumed what they were doing and time went back to normal. Everyone that is, except for Gar and Raven.

His eyes went wide and his mouth hung open ever so slightly. He felt his palms get sweaty and he tightened his grip on the glass. She was here, looking the way she did. Gar seemed to blank out for a moment as his heart picked up the pace, threatening to burst out of his chest. He couldn't take his eyes off her. But something deterred him, her eyes. There was worry and regret in them.

Raven made eye contact with Gar and gulped, hopefully not noticeably. He was looking very handsome. Unlike Dick beside him who chose to go with the traditional tuxedo, Gar went a little different to say the least. He wore a white linen tunic, with a classically cut collar surrounded by a gentle, not elaborate, dragon pattern in blue. The collar went down so just below his collar bone giving everyone a nice view of his neck and a small taste of his chest. The tunic went down and rested below the hem of his two-button black suit jacket where the dragon pattern continued, though only on the left. He stood there, one hand around the glass the other in his pocket. _Wow, he looks… and people thought I look good…_

She tore her gaze from him and went over to a very excited looking Jinx and Victor, Jinx who gave her the I-told-you-you'd-look-hot smile.

Victor spoke up first, "Well, it seems everybody who needs to be here is here. Let's get this party started."

* * *

The evening went along smoothly. They started off first with drinks hors d'oeuvres mixed with a bit of socializing. Left and right, they could be heard, "Thank you for coming," "It's quite an honour to have you here," "It's a pleasure to have finally met you" etcetera. Then came Raven's 'speech', Dick stood at the stage where the classical 7-piece strings band sat and asked Raven to come up and saw a few words before dinner. She tried to look shocked and flustered and continued her act on the stage, feigning blushes and stumbling across a few words.

"This truly is a monumental event, not only for the Royal Ontario Museum, but also to the world. Never has there been such an extensive collection regarding Cleopatra since she herself roamed the streets of Alexandria. And none of it would have ever been possible were it for all of your generous contributions. Thank you." Raven closed and received a roaring applause.

Dinner was also quite nice. Raven herself had the Veal Piccata, a veal scaloppini in a lemon butter sauce. It was very tastefully done, the butter sauce was smooth and rich with out being overwhelming and the veal was cooked medium rare, just the way she liked it. After dinner, dancing commenced, as did the rain. Despite the dreary weather outside, inside the party was alive and well. Jinx and Victor engaged in several while Dick danced with every woman, married or not, in the hall. Gar, she noticed, spent most of his time at the table, getting up once or twice to dance with an important guest then retreating back to his table. Once he got up and talked to the band leader during their break and that was it.

Raven on the other hand continued to mingle. She went from table to table striking up conversations with various donations contributors and 'revealing' tid-bits about the exhibit before it opened next Sunday.

One point in the evening she found herself conversing with Gloria Chen herself, the mother of Michael Lee-Chin after whom the new wing of the ROM was named after due to his generous donation when it had been constructed. Gloria was a short stocky, stereotypical rich Asian woman. She wore what distinctly looked like mink and was adorned with baubles probably worth more than Raven's home. But it goes to show looks were deceiving, Gloria was actually quite the nicest woman at the whole Gala. First glances gave one the impression that she was the mother of a rich businessman who knew nothing about the real world and barely spoke English. In all actuality, she was quite well educated and fluent in 5 languages, only 2 of which were Asian.

They were discussing the upcoming federal elections when Gar decided to intrude. He came up behind Raven, leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"Garnet." Raven quickly whipped around, instinctively clutching her necklace.

"Excuse me?"

"Your necklace, garnet unless I'm mistaken." He sent her a crooked smile, staring right into her eyes, daring her to retort.

"As a matter of fact, it is. Though, I don't expect any less from _you,_ Mr. Logan. You must have quite an eye for priceless antiquities."

His grin widened as he scanned the length of her dress, "No, just for things of heart stopping beauty." They stood there glaring at each other, egging the other one when Raven remembered.

"I'm sorry, I've been so rude. Mr. Logan, this is Mrs. Gloria Chen, she is one of our many contributors. As a matter of fact, her son is Michael Lee-Chin." He smiled and gentlemanly took her hand grazed his lips on it, "Mrs. Chen, this is Garfield Logan, one of our two main sponsors"

"A pleasure sir."

"Doubly so. Now, I'm really sorry to have to steal Ms. Roth from your presence, but do you suppose she'll entreat me to a dance?" Gar directed the question to Gloria who was delighted by his demeanour and charm.

She shrugged, a smile playing on her face, and nudged Raven, "O I don't see the harm." Raven blushed as the focus turned to her, Gar turned his whole body towards her and raised both his eyebrows questioningly.

"Well Raven, what do you say? Unless of course you don't know how…" He smirked at her, knowing just the right buttons to punch.

She cocked an eyebrow in return and placed a hand on her hip, "I'll have you know, _Garfield_, that not only do I dance, but do so very well."

He smiled, victorious, "Well, I suppose I'm in for a treat then?" He let his hand out palm up waiting for hers. When she placed her hand on his, the sudden warmth sent a shock through his body and his heart skipped a beat.

"Excuse us Mrs. Chen." She nodded her goodbye as the couple slowly made their way to the dance floor.

Gar held her hand in his, gently grazing over her knuckles with his thumb. He looked at her while she turned away, fighting the blush creeping up her cheeks. They finally made their way onto the dance as the band transitioned to a waltz, Moonlight Sonata 14. The hauntingly sad piano complimented by the band's cello and violin. Raven watched as elderly couples smiled and escorted one another onto the floor and began a formal waltz, suddenly worrying her. What if she made a mistake, she would look like an idiot in front of all these important people. She gulped visibly while Gar guided her to the edge, beaming, and then bowing like a gentleman. She raised her eyebrow and nodded slightly, playing along with his game. He then took his arms out in a dancing stance, inviting her in, as a true gentleman would. She rested her right hand gently on his shoulder and took his other hand.

Gar grinned at her and began to slowly side step in a circular pattern, their bodies falling in with rest of the crowd, creating small swirls of colour on the floor. He felt the tension in her arms and went slowly, he noticed the hesitation in her movements as he took the lead and saw that her eyes were distant, concentrated. He merely stared at them, taking advantage of her distraction to gaze at her. He watched as she took calculated breaths in time to the beat, her chest slowly heaving. Her neck, long and slender, adorned by the simplicity of her necklace. That's when he tightened his grip around her waist, holding her closer. She seemed to snap out of her trance and stared him down, making him smile.

"What do you think you're doing," she questioned.

"I'm dancing with the most beautiful woman in the room," he said matter-of-factly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

She gently pushed away, but he held her even closer, lightly laughing as the music once again transitioned to a more modern sound; The Shadow of Your Smile. He continued to stare as the pace of the dance changed from formal to casual, though both of them still in the classical stance. Raven turned away, and then turned back, noticing that he was staring at her.

"What are you staring at?"

He opened his mouth as if to speak and closed it again, letting out a sigh, "'If I could write the beauty of your eyes and in fresh numbers, number all your graces, the age to come would say, "This poet lies, such heavenly touches ne'er touched earthly faces."'"

He smirked smugly, and went back to staring. Raven was taken slightly aback, not only had he just called her beautiful, but he did it while quoting Shakespeare. She suddenly straightened her back more and lifted her chin, rising to his challenge.

"'Dismiss your vows, your feigned tears, your flattery. For where a heart is hard they make no battery,'" she bit back. _Fight fire with fire,_ she thought, _or in this case, Shakespeare with Shakespeare._ He smiled and realised what she was doing.

"'Sometimes your words cut like a bullet in my side. Oh what is more important, wounded heart or wounded pride?'" Okay, so it wasn't Shakespeare, but it was poetic nonetheless.

"'But what's so blessed-fair that fears no dot. Thou mayst be false yet I know it not."" His face fell slightly at her words. Yet again, she didn't fail to bring up the fact that he lied to her. But he quickly picked up again, shaking his head.

"M'dear, you are a true iron hand in a velvet glove."

"Oh shed the Don Juan suit will you?"

"Why, do you not like what I'm wearing," he looked down at his attire then looked back up at her, eyebrow cocked, "Or do you just want me out of my clothes." He suggestively waggled his eyebrows.

She gave an exasperated sigh. _Doesn't he ever stop flirting?_ When she suddenly realised he was _trying_ to get a rise out of her. Trying to get her angry for his own twisted enjoyment.

"I see what you're doing Logan… So you want to tango huh?"

"Actually, I believe it's a waltz. But we can tango if you like." He beamed suddenly and twirled her, letting go and walking quickly to the side, throwing away his jacket onto a chair. He looked over at the band leader and jabbed at him with his index finger. The waltz abruptly stopped and the violin began to whine and play, first a slow, dragging note then a fast up-beat jerk of music then back again to the slow tune. Raven looked at him in shock as he walked over to her and offered his hand. All eyes were on them now as Raven felt her cheeks flare in an uncontrollable blush. She couldn't believe what he was doing, but she was damned if she would let him get the best of her.

Grinning he made his way over to where stood, petrified to the spot. All the others had stopped dancing and stepped off the dance floor, their eye glued to the bold couple. Raven fought back a fierce blush as she heard the intoxicating sound of the violin intermingle with the murmurs and whisperings of the crowd. The violin continued its melancholy soliloquy as he gracefully bowed, offering her his hand. Raven pursed her lips and cocked an eyebrow, and returned with a curtsy, her eyes never leaving his. T_wo can play at that game,_ she though as he took her hand in his. He grabbed her boldly around the waist with his free arm, jerking her towards him tightly and she dared back, placing her hand on his arm. Without the confines of his suit jacket he felt the tension of the muscles under the thin material of his shirt. Her chest held closely against his own she could feel the hard, warm muscles underneath. The music suddenly picked up with a crescendo of the piano, the violin set a quick pace accompanied by the quick staccato of the accordion and pounding base of the cello.

They began, stepping lightly, him guiding her blindly backwards and around in a curve. Their steps matching the accordion's beat. As the music continued Gar grinned at her as he bent her backwards in tune with a pause in the music.

She pulled her head up and brought it close to his and snapped, "What game are you playing at Gar?" The music changed as Raven took charge. She took the lead as the song took an angry beat, sending him stumbling backwards, all the while grinning at her, amused. He twirled her outwards and pulled her back with such a force that she came crashing against his chest. They swayed; her back to him. Both of their movements fighting an invisible battle with the other, the crowd watched on at their grace, oblivious to their argument. She would pull and he would push. His strong hands wandered up and down her sides, memorising her every curve, feeling the soft material of her dress, wanting to tear it off and feel the silkiness of her bare skin.

He smiled against her ear and whispered, "No games. Not tonight. No lies, no covers." He pushed her out again and she returned with fierceness in her eyes. She took control again and laid both hands on his chest. She smiled at him audaciously before aggressively pushing him away. She stomped towards him in tune to the beat, laid one hand on his chest and powerfully pushed him backwards.

"Oh, so I suppose you'll be telling everyone who you really are." He grinned at her while he took her hand and twirled her around twice before getting back to their original position. He held her closer this time, if that were possible and he felt her fight against him in vain. He led her around again, their position holding them so close together their legs had to move as one, each feeling out the other before moving. The music slowed as he bent her again, his face close to hers, then trailing down her chins, along her neck and stopping right above her breasts, causing her to draw a sharp intake of breath. His left hand held her around the waist and his right hand held her a few inches above her knee, wandering up her exposed leg. She clung to his neck so as to not fall for her bent her so far that her head nearly touched the ground, the only thing holding her up were him and his god damned hands.

He smirked at her, "I don't know what more you're talking about. This is who I really am."

Her eyes flashed with frustration as the music picked up again. He helped her up as they began to quickstep along again. Their feet moving quickly against the demanding rhythm of the violin. Raven felt her dress swing about her as they danced, surely giving the audience a nice view, but she didn't care. She just wanted to take that damned violin and shove it up Gar's-

She took control again, forcing him backwards. Moving so quickly that he struggled to keep up.

"Then what about the masked creature that stumbled into my living room last month?"

He grabbed her waist again and held her tight.

"That, Raven, is the mask. This is who I really am. Bare bones, everything you see."

Raven stopped, let go of his hands placing hers on his chest and bent her leg and lifting it, leaning against him, forcing him to side step and lean back. His eyes opened widely at the bold move.

"What are you trying to gain by telling me this?"

He took her by the waist and spun her around hard, giving him time to recover. Then suddenly he stopped her from behind, laying his left hand on her stomach and the other on her right upper arm which reached back and held his head for support. She laid her other hand on his other arm, both breathing heavily due to the strain of the dance. The crowd watched on in awe at their display of skill, completely unaware of the internal struggle between the two.

"Your trust," he growled against her neck.

He held her close as she let go of him and slid down, holding onto his sides for support. One leg jutted out the side, the other bending underneath her. Then she rose again, sensually against his legs, causing him to groan a little and her to smirk. She quickly turned around and grabbed his shoulders.

"You had it," she growled back

And she twirled him. He recovered and grabbed her again in their original stance. Both of their chests heaving up and down. His forehead and hers, glistening with sweat. His thin shirt clinging to his body due to perspiration, showing off his every rip and ripple. She felt his tense muscles, fighting to keep her close.

"I didn't want to lie to you."

The beat had picked up, the accordion belting out an angry staccato.

"Yet you managed."

She turned and began to walk away from him before he grabbed her arm and held her close with an intense ferocity.

"You're stubborn as a mule, you know that?"

They stepped back and forth, both struggling for dominance.

"That's funny, considering you're an ass."

Gar feigned a hurt look, mouthing an 'O' before pushing her out and twirling her back to him, holding her closer than before.

"You're infuriating, do you know that? What more do you want?"

Anger and hurt flashed across her face as she dominated and began pushing him backwards.

"I don't know, maybe want it back. What you and I had, because we did have something. I want to back to before I found out that you're Kinyago. I want a normal, trusting relationship with you, but I know that can't happen. Most of all, I want to forget because getting over you has been the hardest thing I've had to do. But you being here and seeing you everyday just makes it all harder."

The music rose in volume and they danced, their eyes locked, their bodies reacting to the music and the unexpected confession from Raven. He saw her fight back tears as she spoke and he knew his own face must have been that of worry. Suddenly, the music stopped and they held their pose, her leg up against him being supported by his hand. His other hand resting at the small of her back, holding her close. Her own arms around his neck, fists clenched. A roar of applause came from the audience and they, breathing heavily, let go.

Then the dance floor was alive again and the band began to play a hot meringue. Raven pulled away from Gar and disappeared behind a curtain of dancing people. He tried to chase after her but was held back by the crowd. He called out her name and got no response, hearing only the fast whine of the violin.

* * *

The night breeze was colder than usual. It brushed the sweat on Raven's skin as it dried off the thin layer of perspiration. She hugged her midsection tightly as she shivered faintly. She didn't know why really. It wasn't all that cold, albeit she was at the harbour front. The lights flickered underneath the water as the wind blew around the waves. She leaned forward over the metal banister, peering over the edge at the water below, trembling at the sudden touch of the frosty metal. Her elbows resting on the railing, leaning her whole weight on it, lifting her feet slightly off the ground. 

It just stopped raining and there were small droplets of water all around. It was funny, while she was inside she hardly noticed the rain at all. Raven looked down at the sheen black surface of the metal and began to play with a droplet, dragging her finger around, gathering water. She lad left the party for some fresh air after a heated dance with the very man she was trying to avoid. Or at least she told herself it was for fresh air. What she didn't want to admit was if she a moment longer with him she might go and do something she might regret, like forgive him.

"Oh look," a voice called behind her, "it stopped raini-"

"Just…" she sighed, "Go away." But he didn't, he only stepped closer to her.

"You know I really love it after it rains. The clouds clear up and you can really see the stars." Gar ignored her and walked right over to where she leaned over the railing and stood beside her. She noticed he had his hands in his pants pockets and his suit jacket back on. What he was rambling on about, she didn't know. But she did know she wanted him to leave.

She took a deep breath and tried again, "I'd really like it if you'd leave me alone."

She saw him shake his head, not once looking at her, "Now see, I don't think you do." This got her attention as she snapped her head towards him.

"Of course I do."

He just shook his head again, "No you don't. See, you're a strong woman. Anyone with eyes can see that. You're independent, intelligent, self-sufficient and of course," he turned towards her and met her eyes, "more beautiful than Helen of Troy. But there's something _I_ see that others don't. I'm immune to your hard exterior and can see right through you. Right through your amazing eyes." She cocked an eyebrow at his flattery, all the while holding back a blush. She watched as the dancing lights beneath the water played on his face, lighting it from underneath, making his features stronger in a sense.

"And what do you see?" She dropped the hard act, truly interested in what he was saying. She turned her whole body towards him, leaning her side against the cold, steel railing and not minding at all. He then smiled at her response and mirrored her actions, boldly taking a step forwards, closing the gap between them. When she didn't pull away he leaned in close as if to look in her eyes.

"That you're hurting, and alone. And you don't want to be. That despite yourself and your reputation, you need someone. Someone to hold you at night. To care for you, to whisper sweet nothings in your ear. To hold your hand when you're walking down the street, to buy you coffee in the mornings. To carry your purse when you're tired, to give you their jacket when you forgot yours," he gave her a smile, slid off his suit jacket and threw it casually around her shoulders, "To surprise you at work with take out, to feed you chicken soup when you're sick. To give you flowers and chocolates on Valentine's day, no matter how cheesy the idea; to take you to dinner just because it's Thursday. To remind you everyday that you're beautiful and to tell you you've been working too hard and you're not alone."

As he spoke he kept coming towards her, his eyes never leaving hers. She merely stood there, watching as his face came closer to her, hypnotized by the smoothness of his voice and the sweetness of his words. He took his hand in hers and made his way around so that her back pressed against the cold railing, thankful that he had offered his jacket before. One hand in his, the other clutching the suit jacket tightly around her neck she stared into his eyes. Unable to move, reminding herself to breathe and say something.

"Do you know where I could find somebody like that?" The minute the words left her mouth she regretted it. God, she sounded like a love sick teenager, riddled with hormonal urges, unable to speak to the cute guy in front of her because he was 'so hot'. Thankfully, he just smiled, ignoring her stupid response and began kissing her fingers. He took each one gently, his eyes closing, concentrating on not scaring her away. Then he took another step and laid his other hand on her waist.

He looked up at her and gave her a crooked grin, "I think I might know a place."

Then it happened as if in slow-motion, in reality it was just a few seconds. He gently let go of her hand and took her face in his face and kissed her gently. She lost control and just let her body take over, her lids slowly closing, her arms reaching up and wrapping around his neck, drawing him closer.

Her last thought before slipping into bliss? _I didn't know he could dance. _

* * *

**A/N: O God, that tango was brutal eh? It was so horribly written, but if this were a movie you'd know what I was trying to portray. Theinsiprationfor that was the quote at thebeginning from"Shall We Dance?"Although starring J.Lo, not really all that bad. Good music too. The ending was also really cheesy, for that I apologize. I just really want to get to the next part. **


	24. Why?

**Author's Note: Hi all, I'm not dead (love the new p!nk cd). I'm uber sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I figure that _Making Mr. Right_ might be easier to finish so I did that a lot, little did I know I would get severly blocked. I know its not an excuse butI had to juggle a lot of schtuff, such as my AP English exam (a first year university course,I hadto memorize 5 novels and be able to quote them by heart), the Sears Drama Festival play, Skills Ontario competitions, interviews at the Ontario Science Centre, and the fact that I haven't been home for more than a night in over two weeks due to several overnights and competitions. **

**Ok, enough with the long winded apology. On with the show. **

**BTW: in case you don't read _Making Mr. Right,_ I'm retiring from fanfiction. I'm going back to my first love, script writing (notice how all my stories are either based on movies or sound like they should be movies)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.**

* * *

**Chapter 23 - Why?**

She was panting. She had to get out of there. Despite the weather, the temperature had risen quite a bit. Raven and Gar got… carried away. When she finally realised, he was too far gone and his eyes had glazed over in a daze. His hands were still on her hips, her arms around his neck. Each covering the other with the warmth they both needed, neither minding the cold breeze brushing past their bodies. And how cold must _he_ have been, his back still drenched in sweat from the dance and only his thin linen shirt to cover him. She at least had his jacket.

They both broke from the kiss heated, neither wanting to let go but knowing they must. Then came the sudden realization of where they were. Two of the hosts gone for God knew how long. Quickly, though reluctantly, Raven pushed away and rushed back into the hall, hurriedly fixing her hair where Gar found his wandering hands; undoing her nicely done up hair and feverishly running his hands through. Of course, she couldn't get it up the same way so she decided to keep it down and hoped that the rest of her looked normal. She felt sort of bad for leaving him out there in the cold, but how would it look if they were caught? It would just add fuel to the already raging fire of the media.

As she stepped into the hall, as composed as she could make herself, she was grabbed by a strong hand and dragged away.

"Jinx! What are you doing?" screamed Raven as Jinx dragged her into the women's washroom, nursing her sore arm. Jinx was oddly strong. You wouldn't see it by looking at her petite frame but the woman could bench-press hundreds of pounds.

"The question is, Miss Roth, is what are _you_ doing making out on the balcony while _your_ gala is going on?" Jinx crossed her arms and tapped her foot, resembling an irritated mother, but somehow not since Raven recognized the mischief and joy in her eyes.

"For you information I wasn-"

"Before you say what you're gunna say, your lipstick is smudged," she said with a smirk. She quickly turned to the mirror and saw what a wreck she looked like. Her lipstick was indeed smudged and her hair was a wild mess. Not to mention she was still wearing Gar's coat jacket. Was she really about to step into the hall looking like this? She gave up on trying to fix the lipstick and just decided to wipe it all off, running into one of the stalls and grabbing a handful of toilet paper.

"These damn things come off so easily. One cup of coffee or one-"

"Passionate kiss with an international thief?" Raven slowly turned as it dawned on her.

"You knew?" Jinx just smiled and shrugged as if it were nothing, "Victor?"

"Victor."

"Victor," said Raven with a faux glare, "I should've known."

"Should've known he can't keep anything from me," Jinx said with a laugh. Suddenly another woman came into the washroom and smiled politely at them, they smiled back. Jinx grabbed Raven's arm again and whispered close to her ear.

"There are a lot of things I know that you don't."

* * *

"Why?"

He didn't mind doing the job. As a matter of fact, he didn't mind at all. One could even say he enjoyed it. A perverted, sick pleasure. Of course he did nothing of the sort, nothing so feral so primitive. Just what he was told.

"Why?"

But that didn't mean he didn't enjoy it. Doing a job others might turn away and find repulsive. But it wasn't repulsive to him. It was beautiful, it was art. That's why he was asked in the first place. Because of his history in it.

"Why?"

Masterful art. The turn of the wrist as an artist would stroke a brush. The soft _swish-swish­_ sound becomes music to the ears. Sculpting mutilating. A drop of blood, like a drop of paint. To the select few, the chosen ones, who could see beauty in what others found horrific.

"Why?"

Albeit it wasn't art, was it? It wasn't creation, it was destruction. Deprivation of life.

"Why?"

She didn't scream, not once. Very brave of her, but useless. It wouldn't have done her any good to scream any ways, but her bravery was admirable. Stupid, but admirable. She wanted to keep what of her dignity she had left. There wasn't much. Not when she sold it to the devil. The cuts on her face, those were first. Two under each eye, like tribal marks. Then her hands, her feet. All of the… expenditures.

"Why?"

Stripped, soaked, then hung to dry. Like an overused dirty piece of clothing. Then she looked in his eyes and said the one word she uttered,

"Why?"

And she was gone. As he grabbed the back of her head and stretched it back, exposing her long neck, he whispered,

"Why not?"

* * *

As Raven made her way to her office the next morning, there was an air about the halls. An unsettling feeling that she couldn't shake. But she was so completely out of it, she was on a level all her own. The gala was magical, she had to admit, and now she was walking on clouds, floating on air. Though despite how she personally felt, there was a tension in the room as she stepped into her office. There she found Vic and Karen huddle around Jinx who had her face in her hands. On the opposite end Dick stood with Roy and two other police officers who were furiously jotting down notes.

"Raven," she heard Gar call her name from his post, staring out the window.

"What's going on? Why is everyone in my office?" Her eyes jolted from one person to the next, reading the expressions on their faces and not liking any of them.

"Rae, sweetie, you better sit," offered Jinx who rose from her seat. Raven accepted, still shaking her head in puzzlement. Jinx gave her a weak smile and crouched down in front of her and took Raven's hands, resting them on Raven's knees. He opened her mouth as if to speak and stopped, back pouting her lips and rubbing her already red eyes. Just then Victor came up behind her and rested his hand on her shoulder; she accepted his nod to explain.

"Raven," Vic started, "Last night, a body of a young woman was found on statue at the centre of Queens Park." Raven began to worry; Queen's Park was a 5 minute walk from here. Her and several people who work at the ROM often went there during lunches.

"Um… They've ID' the body… I'm so sorry Rae… it was Kori."

She couldn't comprehend, for a minute there she thought he said 'Kori'. The body couldn't possibly have been Kori. She looked to Dick and the cops who had all stopped to watch her reaction. Could it?

Dick's eyes hid behind his dark tinted glasses, leaving him expressionless. If he was mourning, they couldn't tell. Jinx's eyes began to water again as Raven felt her own sting at the sides. Kori? Her personal assistant Kori was murdered? Things like this didn't happen, not to her. Not here, not now. Suddenly she couldn't breathe; she began to pant as Gar shoved his way through and grabbed her waist. He turned into a blur as she felt her eyes involuntarily roll behind her head.

* * *

Jinx watched as gar carried Raven into Victor's office and kneeled by her seemingly slumbering body. He had quickly caught her when she fainted back in her office and frantically asked Vic if he could take her to his office, that she need her space. He rushed her, carrying her bridal style, down the hall, heads turning to see what the hustle and bustle was about. Now he sat there, so close to her. His head was in his hands and his whole body read genuine concern. Jinx tightened her grip around Vic's arm as they both watched on in sadness from the doorway. Vic then grabbed the door and gently closed it as to give them their privacy.

"Are you okay babe?" He asked her, looking into her eyes. They were still red from when they had heard. They were told much less formally, with far greater disregard for how the parties might react upon hearing that their friend and co-worker had been brutally murdered.

Vic remembered that morning when Jinx picked up the phone; she had suddenly turned pale and nearly dropped the phone were it not for Vic who was there to catch it. They had both requested that they be able to tell Raven personally. And judging by her reaction, it was a good thing that she was with people when she heard.

Jinx nodded, "Yeah, just a little shaken up. I just don't understand Vic. Why?" Vic grabbed her around the waist and held her close, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead.

"I don't know, why. But I do know is that you're safe. I'll take care of you I swear. And I _know_ that Gar is gunna take care of Raven. You'll both be fine."

Jinx smiled as she pushed away from his hug and they both began to walk down the hall to the communication's room.

"I know we will. God, I can't wait 'til this exhibit is out of our hands and this damned curse is lifted."

* * *

Raven found herself lying on the couch in Victor's office. Turning and squinting her eyes she met with the worried green eyes of Garfield. She felt warmth around her hand as he grabbed it and held it in his own.

"Rae, are you ok?" She dumbly nodded and attempted to sit up only to fall back down.

"Where is every body else?"

"They've gone to deal with things around the museum. But you, are you ok?" She nodded slowly.

"Tell me, how…"

"Are you sure you're ok? I mean-" She nodded quickly cutting him off.

"I'm sure."

"Okay," he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, mussing it up further, "They found her this morning, 'round 3, 4 in the morning, tied up to the statue. Her hands were bound behind the statue's head and her feet tied down with rope."

He paused for a moment and took a deep breath as if to get his bearings straight. He hadn't been there, no, he didn't want to see that up front. Unfortunately he had seen pictures. It was gruesome, horrifically so. It almost seemed as if the killer enjoyed it. Gar could almost see it, him leaning over her beaten body, breathing his hot breath on her skin. Strong arms lifting her limp figure onto the statue, slinging rope around and binding wrists so small as hers. He could hear her crying, sobbing within herself. He could smell it, the blood, once you've smelt that, you don't forget it.

"She was naked but what they found unusual was that her clothes were found neatly folded on a park bench not too far away. Her wallet was there, that's how they ID' her, and there was $164 in untouched cash. They said there were initial signs of struggle, rope burn marks around her wrists and ankles, and slight hints of torture, cigarette butts on her torso, knife cuts along her ribs, her face. But no dead skin cells in her fingernails. No evidence of who…"

"Was she? Was sh-"

"No. After her body was taken down they did a thorough assessment, she wasn't raped."

"Oh," Raven gathered up her strength and managed to sit up, propping herself up on the sofa's armrest, "Then what do they need with me?"

"As you might already know, Kori didn't have any family here… She marked you as her primary contact." Raven felt her eyes stinging again. This wasn't happening. Kori was like a younger sister to her. She was sweet, beautiful, and smart. Who would want to do that to someone so… innocent?

"They need you to sign some release papers and arrange her funeral," he watched as she worked through the situation in her head. It was a lot of information to take in, not to mention the fact that it was so shocking. He thanked God that she didn't have to see the body to identify it; Dick had gone earlier to do that.

"But, Rae, if you can't right now I understand. I can take ca-"

"Thank you Gar, but no. I'll take care of it myself. She was my friend." They sat in solemn silence as they listened to nothing but her quickly shortening breath and the sombre hum of the building. He watched as her eyes began to water again and gentle tear rolled down her cheek. Gar raised a hand to wipe it away and kept it there, tenderly caressing her face. She leaned into his hand and closed her eyes.

"Raven, listen, this wasn't a random killing. They didn't just pick her off the streets 'cause she's a random woman walking alone. She was your _personal _assistant, your secretary. She had access to your file, your office, everything. She knew everything about you that anybody who'd…" He couldn't finish his thought, "And I think that's why the targeted her." She could hear what he was saying but she didn't want to. Then she felt his other hand cup her face and bring her gaze to meet his. His eyes pleading worriedly at her.

"Rae, you're in danger. This was a sign, a warning that you could be next. And who knows what information they got from Kori," she tried to turn away but he turned her again, "Listen to me. I don't want you to get hurt. I don't want anything to happen to you, and you're a target. You're the main target, the curator of the ROM."

"What do you want of me?"

He sighed and brought his face closer to hers, "I want… I want to take care of you. I want to protect you. I want… you to trust me." His eyes seemed to scream for her, _Trust me!_ And she wanted to, she was so tired now. So tired of playing games, so tired of pretending to be strong. She wanted him to hold her, and as if he had read her mind Gar let go of her face and brought his arms around her in a tight embrace. He squinted his eyes closed as he held her tighter, never wanting to let her go just in case. He wanted to be around her constantly, to protect her, to watch over her. He would go to any depths of hell to keep her from harm, he gladly kill anyone who threatened her.

She took a deep breath and whispered in his ear, "I trust you. Be my shield." And so help him God he would be.

* * *

Dick walked swiftly down the hall, cell phone pressed urgently against his ear, threatening to burn a hole in his cheek. Behind him Roy and Karen struggled to catch up. Swearing frustratingly Dick snapped the cell phone shut so hard it may have snapped in half in his hands.

"Whoa, Dick, wait up," called Roy. Panting, he and Karen slowed as they reached Dick.

"What do you want?" Dick impatiently put off.

"What's the hurry, bud? Can't you talk for a while?" Roy grabbed Dick's shoulder and forced him to a stop.

"Yeah," interrupted Karen gently grabbing Dicks other arm, "Dick." Karen and Roy held onto either side of him as if he were an escaped fugitive. He glanced, surprised, at both of them then he smirked and began to chew on his tongue. His demeanour eased up as he realised what they were doing and a thin eyebrow rose from behind his glasses as he rolled his head sideways.

"Alright, I see what this is."

Karen feigned a shocked expression, "Why Dick, we only wanted to talk."

"_Talk_, huh? Listen, I know what you're thinking," he shook them off his arms and straightened his suit. Dick took a step forward and turned back to look at them, taking off his glasses and wiping them on his shirttail. His usually tame blue eyes arrogantly egging them on.

"But I had nothing to do with Kori Anders' death."

"Who said anything about her death?" asked Roy. But Dick was smarter than that; he knew exactly how these police types worked. They always think they've got you figured; the key is to stay a step and a half in front of them. So when they zig, you zag, when they turn left, you turn right and when they bark at you expecting you to back down, you bark back.

"Well, officers-"

"Detectives," corrected Karen.

"_Detectives_, you have clearly come here to talk about the case at hand. Otherwise, you both shouldn't be talking in here with me; you should be sitting in your little white van outside eating donuts and drinking coffee. But aside from that, Kori and I had been dating. That doesn't make me a suspect that makes me a relation to the deceased. You should be staying out of my way and letting me mourn instead of rubbing your damned suspicions in my face, such as you are."

"You have to admit though, Dick, that it looks pretty bad for you," said Roy, tucking his hand in his front pants pocket, his other hand resting on his belt. He didn't buy Dick's little boyfriend in mourning façade. Little rich boys like him went through women like regular people went through socks. If you lose a pair, no problem, you just go out and buy new ones.

"Yea, you get involved with this girl and suddenly she gets brutally tortured and murdered," Karen crossed her arms in front of her and kissed her teeth, "Doesn't look good buddy."

"Well, I'd say it looks great from here," Dick stared Karen down, "But of course it would, because I'm at no fault. You don't even have evidence against me, all you have is lousy speculation."

"Dick, let me tell you something," Karen glared as she took a step forward meeting his challenge even though he was clearly taller than her, "There is no such thing as a clean murder. There's always something you can go back on, something killer forgot. And if I find any-"

Roy pulled her back, it wasn't wise to threaten Dick Grayson. Dick smirked as he watched Roy try to calm Karen back down.

"_Miss_ Beecher, I suggest you get your facts straight. You don't know who you're dealing with her girly," he mockingly spat at her. He knew they couldn't touch him, with one wave of his hand he could have them disbarred for wrongful accusations and speculation, and maybe he could throw in a little malicious intent there too.

He gave Karen one last vicious wink as he put his glasses back on and took a step towards Roy, whispering in his ear making it loud enough for Karen to hear, "Roy, old boy, do try too keep your _bitch_ on her leash."

With that he walked away, chuckling as Roy struggled to hold Karen back from jumping on him.

"Relax Karen, he's just trying to get a rise out of you," Roy harshly whispered into her ear as he held her back.

"Well it's workin' 'cause I feel my blood pressure risin' alright," she stopped her advances and worked on fixing her mussed up clothes. She stared into Roy's eyes and he felt the anger emanating from them.

"He's an incredibly pompous asshole," Roy sighed, "But he's right. We can't touch him. Not without real evidence, not just a gut feeling and a general dislike for the guy. And you know he could take us down if he wanted and he wouldn't even have to break a sweat. So just calm yourself, if it was him, then take him down by the book."

"Yea, you're right. I just wish I could take those damned glasses of his and shove them down his cocky little throat," She turned to the front doors and started walking, "Let's go. You know, it's times like these that I wish I smoked."

* * *

Garfield quickly arranged for a separate housing for Raven. He was on the phone with a place on Spadina Road but they had put him on hold. He wasn't about to let her go back to her loft alone in a dangerous like hers after what happened. After all, he as Kinyago got right in and out of her loft with easy. Although given that his former 'partner' wasn't as nearly a capable a thief as he was, he could still get in there with brute force as opposed to the finesse that Kinyago had.

Gar wanted to kick himself. _Shit_, he thought, _I shouldn't have blown my cover. I'd know why that damned Red X was by now if I hadn't. Why did I have to be so stupid?_ He couldn't get the images of Kori tied to the statue out of his mind. He kept picturing Raven in her place, that brute laying his filthy hands on her. He could almost see her tears, hear her cries. Thoughts that almost brought him to tears. He didn't want that to happen to her, he wouldn't let it. He would spend every penny he owned to keep her safe.

"Hello Mr. Logan?" The woman finally came back on the phone. Her heavy Chinese accent apparent.

The place on Spadina wasn't the most glamorous of places and wasn't nearly as nice as her old place. Actually, it was a dump. He had seen the places along Spadina, which was Toronto's version of New York's Chinatown. Spadina was the busiest of busy streets downtown, always lit by traffic and various Asian shops selling everything from illegal bootlegged movies to exotic fruits. The smells there weren't always the greatest nor were the people too friendly, but he had rather put her there than leave her where she was.

"Mr. Logan, everything is good. Your account checked off and we will bill everything directly to your office."

Gar muttered a quick thank you and hung up. Her new apartment was above a small Chinese restaurant called Swatow. He actually knew the place and the owner, it was one of the few good places along Spadina that served good food and kept to the sanitation laws. Gar had arranged that all Raven's needs be met, if she were hungry they would give her food, no questions asked, the bill sent to his office back in Chicago. Of course he was paying for everything. Raven offered to do it all herself but he wouldn't hear of it. The least he could do was this for her.

What she didn't know about his plans was that the apartment was a two bedroom; he was going to stay with her. He was going to keep his room at the hotel and tell no one about neither of their moving; he didn't know who to trust anymore. Despite the location, Chinatown being the last place you would find a woman like Raven, and the constant watch of the owner, and busyness of the street, Gar didn't feel that she was safe unless he were with her. He knew it was a very male egotistical thing to think, but he couldn't help it.

He turned to watch her, sleeping on Victor's couch using his suit jacket as a blanket. Her face was scrunched up as if in pain and he couldn't bear to see it. He would go to any extent to see her safe and happy. She had been happy at the gala, she didn't want to show it but she was. That little episode on the balcony did her good. He felt her insecurities melt away with his kiss; her walls fall down with his touch. She had finally let him in, without words. Of course, he smiled at the thought, she would fight with him. Always. Her pride getting the best of her, not wanting to seem too weak or too needy, even though he knew she was. That Raven on the balcony was the real Raven, that Raven that cried for Kori was the real Raven and he wanted to see more of her. He told her he would keep her safe, and he would.

* * *

**A/N: HA! Betcha didn't see that coming didja? I did say before that I was going to kill someone off. There it is. Kori Anders, deceased. Betcha didn't think I'd kill of one of the five did you? That murder scene was brutal, kinda reminded me of my original story Babel, which is also unfinished, in my fiction press account. WowI haven't seen that thing in months. **

**I also managed to slip in a quote or two from my play, they're the wierd sounding lines like, "What do you want of me?" That's not a typo, its actually of. Well see you next time, I have a feeling that this story is far from over. I'm ecstatic about them moving in together, hoping not to make it so emo angsty. **

**_Making Mr. Right _will be finished by the end of this week, I swear.**


	25. Game On

**Author's Note: This is the longest chapter. It's a kind of thank you to all the people who review my stuff. My writing is still premature and I really appreciate the kind words. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or the ROM.

* * *

**

Chapter 24 - Game On

The soft clunk of the white unmarked vans doors closed behind Gar as he stuffed himself inside the tin furnace. The small portable fan was oscillating on the other side of the coffee table, not doing much for the heat, only managing to whirl around the hot air.

"We're moving," said Karen. Her usually crisp suit was now wrinkled and open in the heat. Roy sat opposite of her, his sleeves rolled up and his tie loose. Gar glanced around the van and noticed that the usual tracking equipment they kept around was gone, no laptop, no files, no papers.

"Why?"

"Dick's figured it out, wont be long 'til other people notice. 'Sides, the unmarked white van's a little cliché don't you think?" Karen raised an eyebrow playfully at Gar but he kept his serious demeanour.

Karen cleared her throat and continued, "I'm getting us wired to camera system inside and bringing in two plain clothes as hotdog vendors to keep an eye on the outside."

"Wired to the system? That means its not closed circuit anymore. Isn't that a little dangerous? What if someone taps your line? Then it'll be like shooting fish in a barrel," he asked concernedly. He of all people should know, he's done that once of twice with a couple of cops out to catch a thief.

Roy shrugged, "Has to be done, nothing we can do about it."

"We're keeping the van itself here," said Karen, "We just won't be in it. They wouldn't have any reason to suspect that the circuit is tapped."

Gar shook his head, unsure. It was think kind of technology that got people into trouble. It lulls cops into a false sense of security. They think that if they're wired and they've got the 'latest' technology on their side that none can get in or out. They forget that thieves know a bit about technology themselves, they forget the blind spots that camera's can't get. Any computer can be hacked, and camera can be tampered with and any alarm can be disabled. There's no real security like a pair of human eyes, awake and alert.

"Where are you staying at then?"

"When we know, we'll let you know," Roy nodded at Gar and patted his shoulder, "Relax man, we've got it covered. We'll let Victor know later and you can check it out once it's up."

Gar gave a nod and reopened the doors, letting in a rush of air and sunlight, "You guys better have it covered; I don't want anyone else getting hurt."

Karen Beecher watched as the door closed behind Gar and turned to Roy, "He's getting frustrated. Too attached to the curator."

"What, you think he's losing sight?"

"No, maybe, I don't know. He's too distracted as it is, and that murder isn't going to help his nerves. He's more worried about her safety than the exhibit, than the job," Karen shut her eyes and massaged her temples. They couldn't fail this one, it was too important. Her job and Roy's depended on it.

They'd been on Red X's tail for years, only managing to catch glimpses of him. Nothing. Kinyago was their last chance, millions had been forked over to get this operation on its feet as well as five years of preparation. Years of studying Red X, and his habits, of tailing Kinyago trying to catch him. This assignment could mean two things for her, eternal fame or perpetual shame. She couldn't afford to miss this chance. She couldn't afford Gar to be distracted by his new girlfriend and after the recent murder and shooting atop the Redpath Sugar Factory; this just might turn into a personal grudge match.

"So you think he's not on his game?"

"No, I'm sure he's on his game," Karen sighed, "It's _what_ game that I'm worried about."

* * *

Gar wandered through the halls of the old wings of the ROM. The air seemed to be cooler here than with the rest of the museum, but maybe that was just him. He smiled as he passed some tourists, laughing and chatting away. This part of the museum was near abandoned now, what with the new wing and the Cleopatra exhibit no one was interested in the old stuff, no pun intended. He walked through as if searching for something, his kept jerking up towards the ceiling and around at empty corners just him and the gentle hum of the air conditioning, moving along so silently that you hardly hear him breathe if you were standing right in front of his face. He couldn't help it, it was instinctive. Being in a museum by himself, he automatically slows his breathing and his steps become light as air. No one would have even known he was there. 

Through the hallowed halls, with the blank eyes and stares of ancient Roman gods and goddesses. Passing by statues and painted pots, telling tales of heroism, courage and love. The chipped rock that once honoured their temples, the faded paint that once told their stories. The gladiators of ancient Rome, immortalized in stone, the rock stars of their day, now forgotten and nameless faces hanging in museum walls. What they lived for, what they died for now gone.

And there was he. What would he be remembered for? His wealth? His 'craft'? Would he be known as the man who stole for art not money? Would he be remembered as the man who brought Cleopatra to Canada? Would they know he ate, he breathed? He loved? And who he loved?

"There you are" The sound of his own voice startled him and surely startled her. She turned to him briefly and gave a small smile, then turned back to what she was looking at. It was a wall, the Hall of Punt. It was a recreation of a mural in stone of the expedition to Punt, the African civilization, ordered by the female Pharaoh Hatshepsut. Raven stood, plaintively staring at a faded spot of wall, her arms crossed in front of her. Here eyes stared up sadly at the lighter patches on the wall. Gar walked up beside her and joined her.

The wall was incredible, even with all of its flaws, its missing tiles, its chipped corners. Even through the grime that time had coated it with, you could still see all of its vibrant colours, its intricate details. The land of Punt, the boats across the Nile, the exotic animals, the slightly obese Queen of Punt. His eyes glazed over in marvel as he tracked their journey from Egypt to Punt then back again, it must have taken so long. His eyes followed the story as it came back to the source, the whitened figure of a person, far more faded than the rest of the wall. Even so, you could see some of the person's features, the commanding presence, the strong stance, a daunting arm pointing out.

"Hatshepsut," she began, not even bothering to look at him, "wasn't the only female Pharaoh, but she was the greatest. She built the temple at Deir-al Bahri, led the expedition to Punt, built the Lower and Middle Courtyards, the Birth and Punt Colonnade, the Temple of Hathor and countless obelisks including the tallest at the Temple of Amun in her father's name. And yet…"

She trailed off but then recomposed herself, facing Gar but not looking at him, "Do you see," she pointed towards the faded area of the wall, "that was her. But she's gone now, erased. They erased her name and her figure, at a time even trying to paint over it. But why?" She seemed to be talking to herself now, no longer telling him about Hatshepsut. The irony of it all made him smile; they both had been thinking the same thing.

"They just made her disappear, and for years… no, centuries. They had forgotten her, her people had forgotten her and all that she did. And now, now we remember, now we honour her the way she was meant to be honoured. The girl who would be king." She stopped and back pouted her lips, finally facing him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to give you a history lesson. It's just," she sighed, "I used to come here, when I was little. The ROM was free on Friday nights from 4:30 so right after school, I'd tell my father that I was going to stay for extra credit then make my way downtown. I'd sit here and stare for hours at the Hall of Punt. I thought it was so romantic, a woman Pharaoh who ruled better than most of her male counterparts. I think it was what made me an Egyptologist."

"But it's funny, I've done it. I've grown up like her, strong and independent. And I'll probably end up like her too, erased," he turned to her and grabbed her shoulder as if to ask what she was thinking. She just smiled and leaned into him, "But… she never allowed herself to fall in love. Having a husband could damage her career." A beat passed between them.

He held her close, "You know, I meant what I said. You're safe. I'll keep you safe," he gently pushed her away and looked into her eyes, "I've rented a space on Spadina, it's small but it'll do. You're moving out of your apartment." He paused and waited for her reaction. She just looked up at him sceptically.

"I know it's sudden, but… You said you wanted to be kept safe. I'll keep you safe; you just have to trust me. Now we can't move you in 'til tomorrow but in the mean time you can stay at my hotel room." He smiled as he saw her raise an eyebrow, "I have work to do tonight so don't worry about it, I won't come in 'til the early morning and I'll sleep on the couch."

He threw his hands up defensively at the last statement and she chuckled, punching him in the stomach. She playfully went in for another jab when he grabbed her hand and they both laughed.

"But seriously," he looked her in the eye again and brought her close, "No one, I mean no one, not even Jinx, is to know where we are-"

"Wait," she pulled back and rested a hand on her hip, "what do you mean '_we'_?"

He grinned and pulled her back again, feeling her stiffen at his tough and fight back, "I mean I'm staying with you. I'll still be checked into my hotel room but I'll be coming home to the apartment. There are two bedrooms and the guy who owns the apartment and the restaurant below is an old friend of mine."

He looked at her face and laughed, "Oh come on living above a restaurant isn't so bad. I mean, I know its Chinatown and it's pretty busy and smelly but it's safe, at least from Red X. Maybe not if there's a hit out on you from the Chinese mafia... What?"

She rolled her eyes and pecked him on the cheek, "It's not the apartment I'm worried about. It's my room mate." She rolled her eyes again and walked away leaving a grinning Gar holding his cheek.

* * *

"Hey Sparky!" Victor pried his eyes away from the monitors to see that Karen Beecher was standing by his door. 

"Oh, hey." He gave sigh, "You scared me. Wow, you look like shit."

She raised and eyebrow at his comment and began fixing herself up, "Gee Stone, you 're such a charmer. Frig, its hot outside you can't blame me for how I look. My God, what is wrong with this city? One minute it's freezing the next its hot enough to cook bacon on you head."

Vic scowled at her and rubbed his bald head, "What do you want Karen? You didn't come in here to talk about the weather so cut the formalities and get to it."

She sighed and leaned against the counter of the communications room, "I need a few things, Roy and I need a tap to your security cameras."

He slowly turned to her, wide eyed, "What?"

"We need to leave our post."

"Oh you mean that oh-so discreet unmarked white van or yours outside?" she stuck her tongue out at his sarcasm, "It's about time some one noticed that thing. I mean, talk about cliché."

"I know, I know, I get it," she held out her palms in defeat, "mistake on my part. We're still leaving the van there; we're just moving the base of operations. So, we need to keep an eye on everything and the only way to do that is to have a tap on the system here. It'll still be closed circuit; the circuit will just be bigger."

Vic rubbed his temples, "Do you know how dangerous that is? What if you get bugge-"

"Yeah, yeah," Karen waved off-handedly, "I know the dangers, Gar told me. But it'll be far more dangerous if we don't have an eye in here."

"Who's gunna watch the entrance," Vic asked sceptically.

Karen picked invisible lint off her shirt and mumbled something inaudibly.

"Sorry, what?"

"The Guerrero brothers." If Vic had been drinking coffee he'd have spit it out right there.

"Mas and Menos? Hell no," Vic jumped up and started pacing, "Hell no! Those walking time bombs, no way."

Karen rolled her eyes at his over reaction, "The Guerrero brothers aren't as bad as they used to be. Remember they were just starting out when you first met them. Mas and Menos have had years of experience now."

Victor glared at her, "They're not stepping one foot into this museum, not one _foot_ into my museum. Karen, have they hypnotized you or something? Do you remember a little incident with a pocket revolver and paperclips?"

"I think you're over exaggerating the situation, it wasn't _that_ bad. We caught the guy didn't we?"

"It took me months to re-grow my eyebrows. Months!" Vic pointed to his eyebrows and starter stroking them, "They never grew back the same, poor babies."

Karen pushed herself off the counter and made her way to the door, "Too late Sparky, the tornado twins are on their way as we speak." And then she was gone, leaving an annoyed Victor pulling his hair out, at least he would have been given the choice.

* * *

Gar smiled as he leaned against Raven's dresser, watching her pile hangers upon hangers of clothing on her bed. She was currently in her walk-in closet and Gar was looking at couple of shirts she had thrown on the bed. 

"You sure you just don't want to bring the whole closet? After all, we don't know how long you'll have to stay, I reckon 'til the exhibit leaves," he called sarcastically, he dodged a flying pair of pants aimed at his head coming from the closet and laughed, "Hey there was a wire hanger in that. You know what; just forget it and I'll buy you and entirely new summer wardrobe."

Raven poked her head out of the closet and threw a summer dress at him, "There, that one was plastic. Besides I just found out about your little decoy today, how am I supposed to know what to bring."

He smiled, "Oh come on, don't tell me your bags haven't been packed since you met me, waiting for me to sweep you away." He waggled his eyebrows and dodged another pair of pants, sans hanger his time.

"In my defence," he threw up his hands laughing, "I found out today too. Oh come on, let's go already, just bring a few things and we'll come back occasionally."

"Fine," Raven came out of the closet with a small black suitcase with international stickers all over one side. Gar cocked his head to the side and read them; Florence, Italy; Vienna, Austria; Paris, France; London, England; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Melbourne, Australia; Cairo, Egypt; Tokyo, Japan: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Johannesburg, South Africa; Lhasa, Tibet.

"Wow, you've travelled a lot," he read on in amazement, half the places there he hadn't even been to, "Lhasa? I thought that was forbidden to foreigners."

Raven shrugged and started rolling her pants to better fit in the suitcase, "Not if you're snuck in. The security's pretty tight unless you know people. It's really beautiful there, so... untouched." She walked over to where Gar was standing and shooed him aside opening the drawer.

"Ooo," he raised and eyebrow, "Underwear drawer." He reached his hand in to grab but Raven slapped it away.

"Lay off Gar," She picked out a few and rolling her eyes began folding them, "Anyways, my father was pretty wealthy. I did a lot of travelling in high school, you know, to get away. From home. At university I did a co-op at the National Historical Museum at Buenos Aires," she indicated the sticker, "Then after getting hired at the ROM they shipped me all over the place like the National Museum at Cairo and the MuseuMAfricA in Johannesburg."

Gar smiled at this, "You've been to Africa?"

"Yeah, but never really picked anything up, like culture or language. I was only there for a few days to verify a purchase the ROM was making." Gar pushed himself off the drawers and made his way behind her, snaking his arms around her waist and resting his head on her shoulders.

"Well," he gave her a kiss on her neck, "You should let me take you back some time. You know, show you around my native land, get to know the real Africa."

* * *

A dark figure crouched in a dark alley at St George St. No cars, no people, barely any lights. With one swift movement, a man-hole cover was slipped from its niche in the ground and slid over enough for a man to slide down, the black gloved hand controlling with such strength it barely made a sound. The figure descended into the dark abyss and discreetly rolled the cover back in its place, with out a trace of entry.

* * *

Vic sat in the Comm. Room watching all the monitors in front of him, a coffee mug in his right hand. Nothing would get past him tonight. He raised a hand to the headset on his ear and pushed a small button. 

"Bee, you there?" he nearly whispered into the mic. A scratching came on and then he heard shuffling on the other line.

"Gotcha loud and clear Sparky." A hushed voice came on the other side.

* * *

A small red light, surrounded by intermingling white lines beeped on a small black screen in a tiny handheld PDA. The dark figure rolled up his mask stopping just above his nose and slipped on a small gas mask, the kind usually used for painting, to shroud the stench that surrounded him. Keying in a few buttons on the PDA, the screen pulled back and the red dot got smaller and the white lines got thinner as a small green triangle appeared. He tested it out by take a few steps forward. When he saw the green triangle move, he smiled and slipped on a pair of goggles that bugged out at his eyes. With a press of a button his vision turned green and black and the tunnel was as bright as day. Slowly and with precision, he continued on using the PDA as his guide. 

Elsewhere, on the floor in the ROM, a small, round flat metal disk the size of a dime lay on the floor. Unnoticed by the night crew.

* * *

Raven switched on the coffee maker. There was no coffee in it, just water to boil for tea. She stepped lightly over to the large window overlooking the city. Gar was staying at the Fairmont Royal York again. In a large deluxe suite with a grand view of Toronto and the lake. The place was bigger than her loft, but in its empty and high ceilings, Raven found comfort in her own place. But she wasn't at her own place anymore. She didn't have her own place. She wouldn't for a while. All that she had now was the museum, and even that was in danger of being taken from her.

* * *

The beeping sped up as the green triangle over took the red dot. The thief shut the device off and slipped it into his pocket. Looking up, the observed the ceiling in front of his face, running his hands over it, feeling it out. Suddenly, he went into his hip pouch and pulled out a chisel like tool and small hammer. Carefully he began to chip away at the ceiling working meticulously centimetre by centimetre, working through to what was underneath it all. Suddenly he heard the clang of metal on metal as he hit the ventilation system. Pleased with himself and tucking away the tools back into his pouch, he reached for a sharp hunting knife and cut away at the relatively thin, but strong metal above creating a hole, big enough for him to slip through, rolling the metal in towards the vent as opposed to out. Crawling through the vent which was a large hollow tube leading to a boiler, high enough for him to kneel and crawl, he cautiously rolled the metal back into place and taking out a small pocket soldering iron, soldered the sheet back in its place.

* * *

The low bubbling noise of the hot water nearly startled Raven out of her trance. Quickly she made her way back to the pot and poured herself a cup.

* * *

The thief continued cutting and soldering the metal above him until he reached what looked like the underneath of a marble floor tile about 2 feet by 2 feet. He ran his gloved hand slowly over it and traced the outline of the tile with his fingers. Making a fist he began punching up at the tile corners, listening for how thick the tile was. Then reaching into his pouch again he took out four long strips of a red gummy substance that looked like licorice. Turning them over there was a peel away paper barrier that protected the sticky side of the gum which he then gently peeled off then stuck the red gum along each of the lines on the tile. After doing so, he pulled out a chunk of black putty and four live wires. The thief then cut the putty into four separate pieces and stuck a bit at the middle of each red gum, sticking an end of live wire into the black putty. When he finished, he twisted the loose ends of the wires together and stuck them onto a wire clip that attached to his PDA. Crawling as far away as the wires would allow him, he crouched with his back turned and turned on his PDA opening the right programs. Then closing his eyes covering one ear that faced that direction, he pressed the button.

* * *

Vic jolted from his near slumber giving a slight scream and nearly fell off his chair. He could have sworn he felt a vibration somewhere. He had his hands behind his back and his feet up on the counter. His eyes immediately went to the all of the screens. His nimble fingers working quickly to switch between cameras, but not too quickly, he didn't want to miss anything. 

"Any problems, Stone? Or were you just jolted by your nightmare?" His eyes quickly shifted from one monitor to another.

"Shut up Karen."

"Whoa, relax Sparky. I've been awake this whole time I didn't see anything. You probably just slipped in your chair."

Vic shook his head sceptically, "Maybe."

* * *

The dust slowly cleared and the thief fanned the dust from his face. Good thing he was still wearing the gas mask. The tile had created a fairly loud thud against the metal and he feared that it either had alerted someone of broken through the thin metal below. Thankfully the tile wasn't above his recently soldered bit of metal and it was fine. Cautiously he poked his head out of the hole the tile came out of. Everything seemed vast and dark, but he knew where he was. He was inside the lobby of the theatre. Confidently he climbed out of the vent, removed his goggles and gas mask, rolling his face mask back down, and walked right out to the stairs. 

He was in the basement of the old ROM building. The old building wasn't very secure, there were no cameras in the basement; it was mainly used for coat check and a side entrance for schools on field trips. The theatre and the employee cafeteria was there along with a few offices and elementary school workshop rooms but the most amount of security there was a few locks on doors. But it wasn't the offices he was interested. We walked over to the main stair well and began to climb, scoffing to him at the pathetic security of the old building. There weren't even cameras along the stairs, only at the exhibit display cases. All of the money had gone to securing the Crystal, leaving the old ROM open to any man to just waltz right in effortlessly.

* * *

"Watch the screens for me," Vic whispered into the headset. 

"Why? Where're you going?" He got up from his seat and started walking towards the door when he stopped and ran back to his desk. Opening the drawer he pulled out a small revolver and tucked it in his belt behind his back.

"I'm going to check out the floor."

* * *

The thief made his way to the third floor and entered an exhibit, Rome. Walking right along, his quick movements went undetected by the aging motion sensors, not nearly as advanced as those in other museums, simple ones one could find in a residential area. Those things were programmed to give a 6 second margin of error with movement detection in case a guard were to pass by unknowingly, he wouldn't trip the alarm by accident. He managed to avoid the cameras with simple twists of his body, then he stopped at corner. A blind spot to the cameras and the motion detectors. He bent over and picked up a small object, a discreet piece of metal the size of a dime. This was child's play, what posed as any real challenged was up ahead. 

Moving quickly, he reached a small room with the view window from the old ROM to the Crystal, once used to view the construction as the Crystal was being made. It was the only window in the entire floor and it now had a bit of rood between it and the window into the Crystal. They never covered up the window again and kept that section separate, calling it Renaissance ROM: Views of our Future. The room was filled with 3D structures and diagrams of the old ROM. At the far off wall a video ran on the plasma screen on the wall, a time lapse video of the progress of the construction of the Crystal. Days turned to seconds and weeks to minutes, all of the 3 years it took to construct the building all in video.

He looked around; the camera was on the other side of a pillar in the middle of the room, contain the original sketch by designer Daniel Libeskind on a cocktail napkin. Swiftly he took out his knife and began working on the window. Crouching he turned his knife to the soft silicon caulking that held the window frame to the wall. Working his way around the small frame he smoothly took back the knife and held the frame with both hands on either side. With considerable strength he popped the window frame off revealing the construct of the plexi-glass underneath. It was only screwed into the support beams underneath. Typical, usual quick construction jobs in the early 21st century were done like this. They needed a window, so they tore a wall down and made a window. Using his knife again he turned the screws loose and removed the glass and set it aside with the window frame. And as with the floor tile, he se them aside, he would come back later.

Stepping out into the cool night air, he stopped to take a breath and looked up to see the top of the Crystal nearly 20 feet up. He gave out a long sigh and began walking around the roof. Getting out of the old ROM was easy, getting in the new one was going to be a different story.

* * *

"Vic, what are you looking for?" came Karen's voice on the other end of his headset. Vic wandered through the exhibit floor with a small pen light which he sporadically shone on every hidden corner, tucked away by the shadows. 

"I don't know," he began, "Something…" He trailed off as he wandered to the window looking out onto Bloor Street. Very few cars moved around this time of night, but the lights of the various stores on the other side of the road shone through. He peered out at looked up above a tall building looming over the structure, the Hyatt hotel. Up there on the roof somewhere was a small webcam that was used to record the construction of the Crystal so many years ago remained.

* * *

Walking around the roof, the thief reached a talk stone building, the offices of the old ROM. Finding another window; he reached into his pouch again, preparing to pop the frame right off the wall.

* * *

Raven sat on the grand piano bench in Gar's massive suite. Her delicate fingers gently ran atop the ivory keys. _Can I still play this thing?_ Her left hand reached for the tea sitting on the black ebony wood of the grand as her right re-familiarized itself with the keys. Softly, as if unsure of themselves, her fingers began to play a familiar tune. _E, E, F, G, G, F, E, D…

* * *

_

With a sharp breath, he was in. The room was filled filing cabinets and three desks were pushed up against the wall, small offices. Probably research based assistants were sent here to update artefact information. Swiftly moving through the stacks, weaving through, in and out among the cabinets to avoid the motion detectors. As quickly he was in, he was out again, into the musty-stenched hallway. Whipping out his PDA once more, he called up the blue prints to the Crystal.

He walked south along the wall until… _There is supposed to be a bridge to the Crystal … right… about… here._ He reached a metal door with an automated lock, a digital interface greeted him with a message, _Please enter pass code._ Opening another program on the PDA he pointed the device's infrared at the general area of the lock. The screen turned into a keypad with a screen much like a calculator. Quickly numbers appeared on the smaller screen, synchronizing with those on the digital lock. After hundreds of combinations the lock clicked open. The digital display reading the pass code: 655321.

* * *

Raven hadn't played the piano since she was little; the fact that she remembered the melody was surprising to her. It was true, playing was like riding a bike; you never forget the motions. Subconsciously her left hand put down the tea cup and joined its partner in playing. She let the music flow from within her heart to her fingers. If someone were to place musical sheets with notes in front of her right now, she wouldn't be able to read them. But there was something familiar about playing this song, a distant memory of something sweet that her body kept a record of how to play it even though her brain tried to forget.

* * *

"Can you see me?" whispered Vic into the headset. 

"Yeah I see you," responded Karen, "So do you see anything?" Victor spun around slowly trying to take in the sights, the sounds, and the feel of the air around him. He had begun to shake his head when something caught his attention. A sound, a click somewhere. His head jerked in a dog-like manner.

"Hear anything?" Victor quickly shushed Karen on the other side and made his way to the bridge leading to the old building. He kept one hand on the gun behind his back as the other shone the light through the small peep hole on the steel door. He jiggled the knob a bit and checked the lock. Nothing.

"No," he spoke into the headset, his hand releasing the gun, "It was nothing. I'm headed back."

* * *

The thief hid, crouched behind the other side of the door. He watched as a thin white light scanned the bridge, his body pressed up against the door silently praying that whoever was on the other side wouldn't open it. The light disappeared and he listened to a man's voice say something muffled. Working hastily, he removed the knife from his pouch and popped a metal tile on the wall, revealing a series of wires. Removing a small black device from his pouch, he began to strip loose ends of the wire in the wall with the knife, attaching the device on their ends when he finished, pressing a small button on the side of the device, and a small red light lit up. 

Taking out the PDA, he opened a program that related to the small device and pressed a button.

* * *

The computer screen in front of Karen flickered a bit and jolted her out of her near sleep. 

"Roy," she called out behind her, "Roy, check this out." Sleepily, Roy walked over, still wiping the fatigue from his eyes.

"What?"

"The screens flickered, I know it may be nothing but you can't be too sure." Roy shoved her aside and began typing into the computer. Like she said, can never be too sure.

* * *

The thief smiled to himself. Yet again, the motion sensors and cameras had been overridden so easily. Focusing his attention not to the keypad lock, he opened the program again and it effortlessly found the second pass code. Nothing separating his now with the exhibit, he sauntered through the showroom floor and made his way to the Magic Bricks display, fingering the PDA in his hand.

* * *

"O shit," said Karen and Roy simultaneously.

* * *

"Victor, shit! VICTOR!" Vic reached the Comm. Room just as Karen yelled in his ear. Staring at the monitors he didn't see what was wrong.

* * *

The thief smugly leaned an arm against the display case and lifted his PDA to his face, pressing the small button again.

* * *

Suddenly, the monitors in front of Vic flashed and he saw a lone figure standing by the Magic Bricks display case. Instantly he rushed back to the floor, his small gun in his hand. 

"Hey! Don't move." Vic stormed in screaming and waving his gun like a deranged cowboy. The figure turned around, his hands up in the air, and faced Victor. With one swift movement he slipped his mask off revealing a large familiar grin, his other hand waving the PDA mockingly at Vic.

"Gar, you idiot!" Gar laughed out loud and Vic heard Karen swearing like a drunken Irishman on the headset. Annoyed, he whipped the headset off just as Gar threw the PDA at him. Vic fumbled with it for a second before looking at the screen. It read only two words, _Too Easy!

* * *

_

A dark figure standing above the Hyatt hotel across the street smirked as he watched the lights on the 3rd floor turn on before falling back into the darkness.

* * *

Raven's fingers finished their dance on the piano keys, leaving a haunting echo of notes hanging in the air. Suddenly a thud came from behind, taking her by surprise.

* * *

**A/N: Haha, making the audience suffer is fun... So many things have happened. MAS and MENOS! whoo!**

**Yeah, it took me a while with the actual breaking into the ROM. For the record, its really hard breaking into buildings and I did my research, security at the old ROM is sparse. I think scene was crap, its accurate-ish, but still crap. **

**About the "Why Kori, why not Dick?" question I was asked; Dick and Raven may have been dating but he doesn't know everything. An assistant would know the more about the exhibit itself., information about security and floor plans and small kinks in the building that an outsider wouldn't know, info that you'd have to be working there to know.**

**There was a reference to A Clockwork Orange above, the keycode 655321 was the main character's prison number. **

**Oh, and last thing. My name, to people who read _Making Mr. Right_, obviously time ends when this is posted, is as follows. Magister: Latin for master; Quinn: a common last name for the Irish, in Celtic meaning wise and intelligent. So magisterquinn, wise and intelligent master... a little stroke to my ego there. **


	26. The Calm Before

**Author's Note: It's almost over. A few more chapters I suppose.I'm just going over and rereading the past chapters to make sure all loose ends are tied up. Just checking all my foreshadowings so I don't miss anything and look like an idiot. Update soon, I swear.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, the Docks Nightclub or Swatow. (As usual, updates to my profile for references)**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 25 -The Calm Before

Red X ran a gloved a hand over his unmasked face. Sitting in the shadow he let his eyes adjust to the nocturne darkness. A file lay open on his desk, blueprints and pictures were scattered all over. He had been studying the blueprints and floor plans for months. The design of the new building was as secure as it was magnificently groundbreaking, it was flawless. _Well, not _completely_ flawless. _

The final heist at the ROM would prove to be the most difficult, but he wouldn't let it get to him. Months of recon missions. Hours upon hours of memorizing building specs and administration dossiers. Endless nights of sitting on rooftops memorizing the rotation of the personnel.

It would all pay off. It had to. He wasn't about to be beaten.

Suddenly, the phone rang, snapping him out of his reverie.

"We move in now, or we don't at all," a harsh masked voice from the other side of the line. The soulless, inhuman voice of the altering machine would send chills down any normal person's spine. But not his.

"And let me tell you, if we don't get this then I'm going to be very upset. You don't want me upset."

Red X mumbled his reply into the phone, "I said it'll get done. It'll get done," and quickly hung up. He rolled up his mask past his nose and held his face in his hands.

_We move now_.

* * *

Raven turned on the polished surface of the piano stool and hesitantly got up towards the doorway. 

"Raven?" Gar stood by the front door removing his jacket. Raven clutched her chest and leaned on the doorframe.

"You scared me," she called to him. He gave a tired smile and walked towards her, landing a few steps in front of her.

His eyes dropping he looked down at her, his hand cupping her neck, "What are you still doing up?"

She looked up at him and smiled teasingly, "Couldn't sleep, so I was looking around your room. Where have you been?"

He sighed and released her face, beginning to walk towards his bedroom, "I was… _working_." Raven dazedly watched as Gar reached around his waist and pulled his shirt above his head, revealing his chiselled physique. She just stood there watching him walk away before she realised what he said and ran after him.

"What? You were 'working'? Out stealing?"

He turned around quickly, a finger raised, "I _wasn't_ stealing. I said working, at the museum." Raven flushed part for being so rude and wrong, part because he was standing so close to her. He noticed her blush and stepped towards her. Suddenly, he grabbed both sides of her face gently and brought their lips together in a soft kiss. Pulling back, Raven gave a silent 'wow' and smiled as he rested his forehead on hers.

"I think its sweet of you to worry. But you shouldn't, I'll be fine… fine and legal," he gave her one last peck on the lips, "good night." And walked away to his room, leaving Raven standing there, her eyes still closed.

* * *

The place was cramped. As in seriously cramped. Raven dropped her bag on kitchen counter and looked out into the 'living space'. A dingy, faded green couch sat on the far end, opposite of the window counter from the kitchen. Raven leaned a bit closer to get a better look at a dubious browning strain on the left arm. Thinking it best not to look into it, she turned away half-disgustedly. A coffee table that looked as if it had seen better days sat not two feet in front of the couch, she scowled as she noticed several rings stains on its wooden surface. 

Deciding to see what else there was she strode over to the washroom. It was fairly decent, as if it could possibly be tolerable with a bit of elbow grease. And a bucket of turpentine. The walls were a suspicious light yellow that looked as if it may have been white at some point. There was no tub, just a shower with lime green tiles and mould in between the caulking. The sink stood alone, all of the deteriorating piping below visible, a half-open, rusting medicine cabinet positioned over it. She walked over and closed it, it wouldn't. _Great_. The glass that should have been on the door was half missing and broken. Raven gave a shudder of disgust and stepped out.

She met with Gar who was dropping their bags on the floor by the coffee table. He turned and saw her shocked expression and gave a small smile.

"Cozy… isn't it?" He asked holding back a chuckle. She simply leered at him and raised one side of her lip.

"Yes, cozy if you're a rat." He laughed and strode over to the washroom that had her so spooked. He peered inside and blinked a few times, trying to make sure his eyes had adjusted.

Gar chuckled and came back around to open the door to the bedrooms, "At least the bedrooms aren't bad." He swung an arm in a mock gentleman fashion and led the way for her.

She raised an eyebrow at his attempt and walked into the bedroom. It was nice. Well, relatively nice. A queen bed stood in front of her, surrounded by four mahogany posts. To her left was a dresser and armoire that matched the bed frame. To the right were two fairly clean windows adorned with wooden Venetian blinds. Outside the open windows, the sounds and smells of Chinatown still wafted in.

She turned back impressed, "Did you do this?" He just smiled smugly and leaned against the doorframe.

"I thought you might've wanted more than a small cot and cardboard box," he shrugged, "so I took some liberties." She followed his eyes to the armoire he was silently indicating to.

Opening it she held back a small gasp. Her clothes were all in there, it was like looking into her own closet. She turned around and gave him a questioning look. _He's been going through my clothes?_

"I had a little extra time last night, I thought you might want a larger selection of clothing."

She opened her mouth to say something but he interrupted her, "I didn't touch your underwear," he held a hand up to his side, "scout's honour."

"You were a scout?" she scoffed at him and went back to the armoire, looking to see if everything was actually there. Her blazers, her dress pants, skirts, even the jackets were there.

"How did you carry all this?" He grinned at her, not answering, "Fine, be an ass, Mr. Super-Thief."

He raised an eyebrow and struck a superhero pose, grinning like a pompous idiot. He flashed a mouthful of pearly whites as he swung his head from side to side as if a strong wind were brushing against him, his chest puffed out his hands at his waist.

He deepened his voice, "Fear not fair maiden, Super-Thief is always here to assist you in your various clothing crises," he struck his hand out and began in a sing-song style, "I'll be here to save the day!"

Just then he charged at her both his fists outstretched in front of him as if he were flying, like a child. He quickly hitched her over his shoulder.

"Wonder at my super strength!" He shifted her into a fireman carry then ran off to the bed, "And super speed!"

He dropped her on her back, all the while laughing hysterically. Raven on the other hand simply looked irritated and impatient. He was propped over her as he finally calmed himself and blinked at her.

"What? You didn't think that was funny?"

* * *

Vic stood against the doorframe to the Comm Room. He had his arms crossed and was kissing his teeth as Karen and Jinx looked at the monitors. He nonchalantly peered over their shoulders from where he stood. 

Satisfied with what he saw he kissed his teeth, "Ha, they're late. Knew you shouldn't have gotten the tornado twins." Vic chuckled at his own cleverness when he saw Karen turn around, affirm hand on her waist and an annoyed look on her face.

"They're flying in from El Salvador Stone, so don't count your chickens yet." She whipped right back around, ignoring but not oblivious to Vic's mocking faces.

"They're here," announced Karen. Vic gave an unimpressed scoff as he stood his ground by the door. He leered as both girls got up and walked right past him.

"Well," he said sarcastically to nobody in particular, "I guess we should greet our new guests."

* * *

Meanwhile, two very little Spanish men walked into the museum. They both wore sunglasses which they dramatically whipped off as they came into the building. 

"¿Esto es?" **(Is this it?)** the first one asked. His voice was higher than usual as if he barely reached puberty and his face read boredom. He casually turned to his brother, folding the glasses and slipping it on the collar of his red polo shirt, tucking his hands into the pockets of his white Bermuda shorts.

"Sí," **(Yes)** responded his brother who was slightly taller. Taller would be an exaggeration, neither men looked an inch over five feet. He smirked as they both looked around.

"No se parézca a mucho," **(Doesn't look like much)** he criticized, sizing up the ROM's lobby. Nudging his brother, they both gave a small chortle as they looked at the bare concrete walls.

"Bien, ese idiota Victor está encargado a fin de cuentas," **(Well, that idiot Victor is in charge after all)** joked the taller one. He wore layered red and white wife beaters and light grey sweats. A white apron hung from his tiny shoulder.

"Hahaha, eso es verdad," **(That's true) **they both stood there waiting for something to happen, "¿Así que dónde está él¿No es supuesto él saludarnos?" **(So where is he? Isn't he supposed to greet us?)**

"Algún anfitrión," **(Some host)** Just then, as if on cue Karen appeared in the crowd closely followed by Jinx, "Ah! Senora Beecher!"

"Mas!" Karen hurried over and hugged the little man in the polo shirt, "And Menos," doing the same for his brother.

"It is some museum you have here," Mas commented, his thick Spanish accent showing its colours through the thought filled pauses between his words.

"Well thank you, but technically it's not my museum," she turned and grabbed a hesitant Jinx by the arm, dragging her over to the brothers, "It's hers. Mas, Menos, this is Jennifer Hagge, the resident security gal of the Royal Ontario Museum."

Mas and Menos looked at each other before Manos stepped up and took her hand and kissed it chastely, "Ah, then the museum reflects _her_ beauty."

Jinx giggled as she felt and arm slink around her waist. Turning she saw Victor sneak up behind her and puller her against him tightly, his glare burning holes through Menos' head. Menos looked up and gave Vic an innocent smile raising both his hands.

"Morning Menos," he growled, turning to the other brother, "Menos."

Menos simply grinned, revealing his missing tooth, "Buenos días, Senor Stone. Nice to see you again. How long has it been."

"Not long enough," he responded with a viciously fake smile, "I see your English has improved."

"Well, uh, I see you decided to keep that bald look," Menos bit back, sniggering and indicating Victor's bald head. Suddenly, becoming very self-conscious, Vic rubbed his head and looked away.

"Don't worry, though," Mas cut in, "No hair looks good on you." The brothers laughed and high-fived earning an animalistic growl from Vic.

"Right, right. Very funny. You should talk, look at how you two are dressed," Vic looked them up and down giving a satisfied smirk.

Menos just raised an eyebrow and held his arms out turning as if he were modelling his wife beaters and sweats, "You like? It's part of our undercover assignment."

Karen turned to Vic smiling, "Yeah Vic, they're just doing their jobs."

"Whatever," he turned away, disgraced by the brothers' readiness. He mumbled to himself, "Still look like shit if you ask me."

Jinx shot him a sharp elbow to the ribs, "Don't mind him," and reached out to shake the brothers' hands again, "It was nice to meet you Mas, Menos, but I have to get back to my post. I'll see ya 'round."

With that she jerked Victor's arm off of her and made her way back to the Comm Room. Victor's nose flared as he stared the brothers down and chased after Jinx.

"I see he's still sensitive about the pocket revolver incident," laughed Mas.

Menos nodded his head in agreement, "Glad to see things haven't changed."

Karen's face turned from amused to sombre as she got between the two brothers and turned them around, headed for the exit. The brothers looked at each other worriedly behind her.

"Some things have changed boys. What do you say we go and see Roy then we'll brief you on the situation?"

* * *

He'd lost her. He just went to the washroom for one minute then, POOF! She was gone. _I should've tied her down to the couch or something._ Gar grabbed the set of keys that lay on the kitchen counter, only one where there were two. He knew where she was going. 

"She's going to work," he murmured to himself as he locked the door behind him, "Damn is she stubborn."

Gar had arranged for Raven to take the day off today, it was all arranged. But Raven, being the workaholic mule that she is, snuck away and went to the museum anyways. He couldn't understand her determination to have absolutely no fun whatsoever. It was like she was programmed to work and push people away. Why anyone in their right mind would not accept a day off was beyond him.

_That girl needs to learn how to have some fun,_ he grinned to himself as he weaved through the melee of busy mid-day Chinese shoppers. _And I'm just the guy to show her how.

* * *

_

Raven's black flip-flops clicked against the marble tiles as she walked along the hallowed halls of the ROM. At first glance she might've looked like an ordinary tourist, but those who knew her face would have been shocked by her attire. The always prim and proper Raven Roth was in a pair of faded hip hugging jeans and a dark brown spaghetti strap top which resembled a corset. Around her neck hung a triple looped black pearl necklace and her usually done up hair was let down, framing her makeup-less face. Needless to say, she still looked good.

"Rae?" Startled, Raven turned on her heel to see Jinx stopped dead in her tracks.

"Raven," she began walking towards her boss, a smirk playing on her face, "You look… different, today."

Raven glared back, clearly not amused, "I'm off today, if you must know."

"Well, if you're off. What are you doing _here_? Don't tell me you like to come here as a tourist in disguise just for fun?"

"No, I remembered a few things at my office that need to be sent out this evening."

Jinx nodded her head patronizingly, "And these 'things' can't wait 'til tomorrow, of course."

"Of course."

"Well then," replied Jinx, a sceptical look on her face, "Carry on, Miss Roth. Gar is right about you."

Raven had just about turned around and was about to make her way to her office when she whipped right around again, caught off by Jinx's last statement.

"Excuse me?"

Jinx put on an innocent smile, "You're excused."

"What did you say? Gar was right about me?" Jinx held her clipboard close to her chest and rocked on her heels, "Jennifer, if you don't tell me now so help me God I'll pull those pigtails right out of your head."

Jinx just leered and pursed her lips, "Feisty are we? Me thinks that Mr. Logan is a touchy subject?"

Raven sighed deeply and tried to regain herself, "Drop the cute stuff Jinx."

"Okay, okay," Jinx laughed, "You know I can't resist it when you're wound up like a clapping toy monkey. Gar just mentioned that you're a bit obsessed with your work."

Raven just made a face and shook her head disbelievingly. She was _not_ obsessed. She just enjoyed her job. Sure she might be bit of a workaholic, but she was _not_ obsessed.

"Relax will ya? Just take it as a compliment. You're… very committed to your work," Jinx rolled her eyes up, "And if that means you don't know how to have fun…"

"I do so know how to have fun." Jinx shot her a look that said, 'Please', "I do so."

"Yes Raven," Jinx nodded seriously, "Because ironing your underwear and preparing your outfits for the next week is just so exciting."

She walked away laughing, "Endless hours of fun."

* * *

"What are you doing?" came a voice from the doorway. Raven was hunched over her work and didn't even attempt to look up. She already knew who it was anyways. 

"Organising a circus," she replied sarcastically. He rolled his eyes at her and took a seat.

"Oh, is that right? Well, tell me if you need a clown posse." She looked up and met his green eyes, dancing with delight.

"A clown posse?"

"Yeah, every circus needs clowns. And I happen to have a few strings I could pull." He got up and walked behind her, placing his hands on the back of her chair and peering over her shoulder. He grinned as he grabbed the paper she was currently working on.

"This doesn't look like circus work Rae…" He walked off with her paper. She tried to swipe it back but he just held it above her reach as he held her shoulder, pinning her down to her seat. Raven tried to shrug off his hand but he had quite a grip.

"'Memorandum'," he began to read, "'To the Ambassador of West Germany?' West Germany, Rae? I love bratwurst. Deutschland!"

"Garfield," she pleaded, "give it back, I need to finish signing these so they can be shipped off…" she looked at her watch and her eyes widened, "In 5 minutes! Give it back, Gar!"

He played keep away with her for another minute or so before whipping the paper behind his back and leaning down to meet her face, his other hand wrapping around her shoulder.

"Alright, tell you what. How about a trade off," he said as he ignored the death glare she was shooting him, "I will give you back your _Memorandum_, and you… and I go out tonight. Whad'ya say?"

They held each other's gaze for a bit before Raven sighed in defeat and nodded, holding her hand face up in mid air asking for the paper back. Gar smiled and complied, placing the memo gently into her hands before bowing exaggeratedly.

She grumbled something inaudible as she began her work again. Gar returned to his seat, smirking smugly, "That's right, grrrr, baby, grrr."

* * *

"So where are you taking me?" Raven asked as they both got off the streetcar. Raven looked around and saw a familiar sight. Raising an eyebrow she turned to him. 

"Back to the apartment? A little… straight forward, don't you think?" He laughed and grabbed her hand, leading her onto the busy street. Raven held back tightly and followed closely, jaywalking was never one of her strong suits.

"No, m'dear. _My_ mind is not in gutter just yet," he waggled his eyebrows suggestively, "Although I'm glad you're already there. Saves the trouble of foreplay for later on." He laughed but was cut off quickly by Raven's fist sharply on his arm.

"So where are going?" He pointed to a small dingy, rat-infested looking restaurant beneath their rented apartment, "Here?"

"Yep. I love this place." Raven looked up to the faded glowing sign above them. _Swatow_, it read in bold red letters against a light yellow back. _Something tells me that wasn't yellow before._

"Gar, this looks like that owner had to bribe the health inspectors to pass. What are we doing here?"

"We're learning how to leap before we look."

Raven raised an eyebrow, "I think you got that backwards."

He shook his head but couldn't seem to manage to shake the smile off his face, "No, I got it right. You need to let learn how to let loose. You don't always have to know what happens next. Throw your inhibitions to the wind and just… trust me."

He looked down at her, his puppy dog green eyes pleading for her to play along, "Okay."

"Great! This place is great, I discovered it when I first came to Toronto and got lost in Chinatown with very little money. I know the owner here, he's great. Doesn't speak much English, but he's real nice."

They both entered the tiny restaurant, Raven looking as if she didn't want to touch the walls in case she contract some disease. Gar gave a nod and smile to the man at the cash register and he came out of his booth, two menus in hand to lead them to their table. There wasn't too much room in the place, a few square tables for couples and two or three round tables for larger groups.

They were stuck at a table by the mirrored wall. Aside from that wall, the rest of the walls were laden with newspaper cut outs of positive reviews for the restaurant and bright neon coloured Bristol boards with Chinese writing on them which Raven assumed to be menus and specials. At first glance the place didn't look like somewhere Raven would be caught dead in. Actually, she might be caught dead there, from food poisoning. Although after much reassurance by Gar that the food was good and the kitchen sanitary, Raven agreed to eat. Gar gladly complied and ordered about half a dozen different things on the menu, most of which contained ingredients that Raven had never heard of. The food came all at once and the only item that she recognised was the large plate of shrimp fried rice. The waiters smiled at them, plopped two small plates along with chopsticks in front of them and left. Gar would pile things onto her plate and tell her how great this tasted with this and how she _had _to try it. She was quite surprised to find there were a number of things she 'had' to try. The two drank the house tea which, Raven admitted, was actually quite good.

"So what did you think?" Gar asked looking up from his plate.

"The food is good. It does seem to be quite popular," Raven observed. They weren't the only non-Asians there as you might expect at a small time Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. There were a number of tables with couples of varied races, all of them looking quite content with their food.

"I told you," he smiled, "sometimes you have to give things a chance. I mean, you probably wouldn't have looked twice at this place on any given day. Am I right?"

Raven nodded, "Fine, so the lesson for the day is 'try new things?'"

He smiled at her and shook his head, "No, the lesson for today is, learn to live a little, let loose and have fun."

She nodded patronizingly, "Yes, sensei, so what's next on completely 'spontaneous' game plan?"

He just stopped to look into her eyes for a few moments as she waited for an answer. He seemed to quite happy just admiring her eyes, his intense gaze causing her to look away.

"Well, I had originally planned for us to go to the AGO-"

"The Art Gallery of Ontario?" she cut in, "I love the AGO."

"But," he interjected, "I've decided against it."

"Why? I would have loved the AGO."

"That's exactly why. You've probably been there a thousand times. I wanna take you somewhere you haven't been." He got a devious look in his eyes as he leaned into the table as far as he could.

Raven just raised and eyebrow at him, "Oh? And where might that mystery location be?"

His grin grew wider, "I'm taking you…"

* * *

Dick pointed a pistol finger at the bartender and tipped his thumb into his mouth, the universal sign for a Beefeater's martini, up, with two olives, and ice cold. He had been swirling the toothpick around in his empty glass for ten minutes, he figured it was about time he got a refill. 

The Docks nightclub was one of the cities busiest. Usually filled with over eager couples and freshly legalized kids, the Docks buzzed every night. But what was he doing there? He still wore his business suit although the tie was now undone and hung around his neck and the shirt was unbuttoned right down to the middle of his chest.

The bartended plopped a new drink on front of his as he quickly took a big swig. She leaned in on her elbows and asked, "You look familiar, are you famous?"

Dick looked over his sunglasses and gave her his sure-fire 'prince charming' smile, "You could say that." The girl giggled and pushed off the counter as another customer sat a seat away from him.

"Get me a T&G," came a familiar female voice.

"One tonic and gin comin' up," the bartender flirtingly winked at Dick before going to mix the drink.

"This place is about to lose their liquor licence," came the voice beside him, "So better drink up, Mr. Grayson."

A vein popped on Dick forehead as he closed his eyes, removed his glasses and massaged his temples. Not once looking up to see who it actually was, "What are you doing here?"

"What I can't be a patron at a popular watering hole?"

"Not in this city you can't," retorted Dick, "What are you doing in Toronto, _Madame_?"

"Actually, little Dickie, I came to see you exhibit," her drink arrived and Dick could hear her take a swig, "I've heard nothing but good things, Mr. Grayson."

"That's swell then," he bit back with as much sarcasm he pump into those three words.

"And, what's more interesting than the exhibit itself, is all of the buzz that seems to be following you, Dick," he could hear the malice in her voice, scraping at the inside of his skull, "A few international thieves, a few wanted criminals, and a dead girl."

He did all he could from strangling her right there.

"I'd say your being here is jeopardizing the people of Toronto, Dick," she took another long sip, "And all for this little show you're putting on. It had better be good, Dick."

"Enough," he snapped at her, putting his glasses back on and turning to meet her gaze, "Now tell me honestly, are you here on business or pleasure?"

She raised a slim eyebrow at his question, "Why, Dick, you of all people should know. My pleasure _is_ my business." He watched as she took a sip of her gin and tonic. She just sat there, teasing him, cross legged, one arm up on the bar the other twirling an unlit cigarette. She was in her usual attire, tight red leather one-piece business suit with a zipper running from her waist to the neckline.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about, Rouge. I'm not in the mood to play games," he pursed his lips and buttoned up his shirt, "I don't have the time or energy to baby-sit you while you're here. And I suspect very highly that you didn't come all this way to just say hello. Now what do you want from me?"

She reached into the inside of her bra and pulled out a small folded up piece of paper. She placed in on the countertop and with her well manicured finger pushed it towards him.

"I need a favour."

* * *

The view from the top was amazing. Yes it wasn't the highest point the city but it was high enough to see the city in all its wonder. Gar had taken Raven to the roof tops. A place he knew quite well. 

Right now they sat on the roof of an unknown apartment building on Queen East, somewhere in the vicinity of her loft. They traveled there via various fire escapes, him guiding her along the way. It was taste of what he went through when he went to 'work'. Teaching her a few tricks of the trade, how to find an ideal building as a start off point for instance.

"You know, you don't have to be a thief to roof jump," he said matter-of-factly. She just rolled her eyes and walked to the edge of the roof. He came up behind her and grabbed her shoulders, pushing her forward a bit. She gave out a small yelp gaining laughs from.

"Why would you do that? What if I fell?"

He turned her around to face him, "I wouldn't let you fall."

"Oh, and I'm supposed to just trust you like that?" _Ouch, that stung a little._ He just looked into her eyes and nodded slightly.

"You're right," he sighed, "I shouldn't have done it. I'm sorry." The look on his face turned from amused to hurt.

She sighed, "No, _I_'m sorry. I-I didn't mean it that way." He smiled at her and gave her a peck of the nose.

"I know." He released her plopped himself down on the edge of the roof with ease, dangling his legs from the edge. She put one foot out and peered over the edge. Sixteen stories. That's a long way to fall.

"You know," Gar began, "if you fell from this height, you'd have enough time to say 'Oh shit, I'm gunna die' 5 times before you hit the ground?"

She looked at him horrified as he let out a laugh, then he held out his hand to her, "Come on." She took it and he slowly guided her onto the edge.

"Okay, no funny business, thief. I'm serious. If I fall, I'll take you with me." He laughed again at her nervousness.

"I'm glad to see the height hasn't faltered your sense of humour," he leaned back on both his palms and looked up.

"Is this the part where you tell me that the view is why you got into stealing?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

He just continued to look up and gave out a small sigh, "No, but this is the reason why I loved it so much."

"_Loved_?" asked Raven, emphasizing the past tense.

"Okay, that's a lie. _Love_. I don't really expect to be understood, I mean, wrong is wrong, right?" She looked back at him questionably, not understanding.

"This," he indicated their surroundings, "Is what's familiar to me. It's like home. Even climbing trees takes me back to my roots. Back to my parents. And besides, you get the most beautiful views on rooftops."

"It's like you're separated from everything," she said absentmindedly, peering over her knees to the ground below.

He smiled at her, "Exactly. No one knows you're up here, you're the fourth was; you're privy to people's lives. Exempted from reality, you're even separated from your own."

For a few moments, they shared a quiet moment. Both of them letting the emotions of the busy city overtake them, taking in the implications of what he had just said, the pregnant silence between them.

Suddenly he got a glint in his eyes and gave her a funny look, "Tell me a joke Rae."

She looked at him as if he had just grown a third eye, "A joke?"

"Yeah, a joke. Like this one, knock, knock."

"Who's there?" she answered irritably.

"Banana."

"Banana who?"

"Knock, knock."

"Uh, who's there?" she asked hesitantly.

"Banana," he answered smugly.

She gave an annoyed sigh, "Banana who?"

"Knock, knock."

"Okay, where is this going?" he gave her a pleading look and she rolled her eyes playing along, "Who's there?"

"Orange."

"Orange who?" she asked, relieved with the change.

He got off his palms and leaned right in to her, waggling his eyebrows, "Orange you glad I didn't say banana?" he laughed at his own cleverness while Raven just rolled her eyes at his immaturity.

"Oh come on Raven that was pretty good."

She just looked at him, "No, just annoying."

"Fine," he said, mock pouting, "How about this one: Why did the snail put a giant letter 'S' on his car?"

Raven bit, "Why?"

"'Cause as he drove by, he wanted people to say, 'Look at that escargot!'"

"Raven groaned and rolled her eyes, "Ha ha ha."

"You know, one day you're going to roll eyes and they're gunna get stuck up there," he said laying back again on his palms.

Raven just shook her head, "I roll my eyes because there are no words to describe how corny those jokes are. Besides, what happened to the charming, smart, funny Garfield Logan who took me out to lunch that day?"

He laughed and pulled her down beside him, "He's still here. Why, do you prefer the suave, charming Garfield to the funny, down to Earth Gar?"

He turned to face her and she blushed at their closeness. Raven stared into his eyes saw that the city's lights were dancing against the green. They seemed to be glowing in the darkness.

Right then of all places, she began to wonder about him. How did she actually feel about him? She hadn't known him for very long, and for most of that time she had been so angry with him. _He's the most complicated creature I have ever met._

At first he was this incredibly charming, smart, deep thinking millionaire. But as she spent more and more time with him, the less and less he resembled Dick. Which was a great thing. She couldn't quite figure him out; he was kind, sweet, caring and a bit goofy. And at the same time he was a thief, a criminal. Any one who would have met them both would say they were exact opposites. But you know what they say, what with opposites and all that.

"You know what?" she answered back, wrapping an arm around his neck, "I like them both." With that, she leaned in for a kiss and let go. She let go of all the doubts, all her inhibitions, and decided to trust the reformed thief.

Slowly he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her over him. She pulled back slightly and let their noses touch. They both smiled as he leaned up to peck her gently again.

"You're changing the subject Rae," she raised an eyebrow to his statement, "You still haven't told me that joke."

She pounded him affectionately on the chest, "We were having a moment." Raven then got up and began walking towards the fire escape and shouted back, "You ruined it."

* * *

Later that night, they moved into the bedroom. Gradually, bit by bit, he didn't want to scare her. She was unlike anyone he ever been with before, and he wasn't about to ruin something so good. He couldn't remember who did what, but clothing fell away and they were somehow on the bed. Neither caring about what might happen tomorrow. She seemed so small. So fragile. As they gave way to sleep, he had his arm around her. When he woke eight hours later in the middle of the night, they were still like that. She felt too good to move. But the little man in the back of Gar's head was getting nervous. _What the heck is going here, Gar?_ _

* * *

**A/N: Awww... they did 'it'! Gar sounds a lot more like Beast Boy in this chapter, I was trying to get back to the roots of the story and bringing the Titans' personas back in.**_

**That last thought that Gar had was his little realization of his 'love' for Raven. It was gay, I know. Three new characters, two if you count Mas and Menos as one. That third character's gunna be a fun little addition to the cast. **

**Speaking of casts, anyone else think that "A Walk to Remember" is a total RobStar story? The 'grr, baby, grr' comment was a little bit of Austin Powers. If I had to cast a TT movie, I'd have a young Christina Ricci as Raven and a young Devon Sawa as Beast Boy. I mean, have you see them kiss in "Now and Then"? So cute. Or litte Rachel Leigh Cook and Austin O'Brien. Cyborg would be Christopher Massey from Zoey 101, definitely. Any ideas for Robin and Star?**

**It's almost done. The big job is about to go down and when we hit the bull's-eye, all the dominoes will fall like a house of cards... Checkmate! (Zapp Branigan)**


	27. Whatever Happens

**Author's Note: Later, read first. Short chapter, apologies.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

* * *

**

Chapter 26 - Whatever Happens

The blinding streak of light coming from the part in the curtains didn't wake him. Nor did the constant drip and rattle of the leaky pipes in the walls. It was the dark haired beauty in his arms. Her warmth, a warmth he wasn't used to, emanated from her and seeped into him. Calming him, a calm he wasn't used to.

It had been too long since he'd slept like that; quietly, serenely, well. Being with her made him forget that which nothing else could. Forget the past, and concentrate on the now. He was so engrossed in her, in her beauty, in her heat, in her eyes, that the fear never crossed his mind. The morning had been a peaceful quiet that he had never experienced in his entire adult life. A peace he only before found in the dark. Now in the light.

She stirred beneath him. His left arm was trapped under her, his right tucked around her stomach, their fingers intertwined. Usually when he slept with women he would have either have left by now or they would be on opposite sides of the bed. But now, despite the numbness in his arm, he didn't want to move.

And that scared him. More than any job he's ever pulled. Affection he had never gotten; affection he had never had to return. Attraction he had dealt with easily enough in the past. But Raven. _My God, even the thought of her name… _Raven was something deeper. More fulfilling than beauty, more lasting than lust. Love was indeed many a splendoured thing.

But he couldn't help but feel it. That stirring in his gut, that pain in his heart and that ringing in his brain. It had been too long since the last attempt, there was sure to be another one. And he was afraid, afraid that this was going to take the cake. And whatever happened up there…

He looked down at her. He might… _Raven…_

He lifted his right arm and untangled it from her own. He propped himself up as much as he could in his position, trying to steal a glance of her face. Gar ran the back of a finger down her cheek, then back up again to draw back a few stray hairs. _She's glowing_, he thought. _She's so beautiful._

Suddenly his dark haired beauty, _his_, stirred beneath him. She gave a small groan and leaned her head back into his chest. She savoured the smell of her velvety hair. Lavender.

"Are you still asleep?" he asked, tangling his feet in hers. She kept her eyes closed but couldn't help but smile.

"Stop," she groaned, "I'm ticklish." Raven opened her eyes and turned to him. He smiled at her sleepiness. He himself had been awake for hours, just savouring the feel of her.

He smiled at her, "Mornin'."

She smiled back, "Morning." She leaned up and kissed him, not being able to hold back her smile.

"What?" he asked.

"You have morning breath," she said, a smirk on her face. He quickly cupped a hand to his mouth and breathed in it, checking. She grinned and pulled his hand down and kissing him again.

"Don't worry, it's not bad. Besides, I didn't expect you to be flawless." He laughed and kissed her again, letting himself get carried away. He rolled on top of her and they stayed that way until Raven pulled away.

"I know this is going to be terribly unromantic but," she said, blushing slightly, "I'm starving." His own stomach gave out a low grumble and they both laughed.

"Well," he said, "I guess it's unanimous." He gave her a few last kisses along her chin and lower jaw before prying himself off of her. He got up and grabbed his shorts from the ground and slipped them on. She just sat up, grabbing the blanket around her chest, managing to keep the private parts private but with bits of skin still peeking out from under the white sheets. Her long black hair was messy and wildly framing her face. Gar pulled back the curtains letting sunshine in before turning back to her with a warm smile.

He bent over and picked up his shirt, offering it to her, "Come on let's get up before I jump you again."

* * *

"It's beautiful." 

Dick sighed and massaged his temples with his forefingers. Not her, not again. Not now. He turned to face her, peering at her over his glasses.

"Isn't it?" she continued, ignoring the obvious apprehension in his body language. She went to stand beside him, both of them peering into the glass case. Inside sat a golden bangle, adorned with carnelian and lapis lazuli. The royal blues of the stones reflecting majestically off the glass; the halogen lights doing their job well.

"Yes, Laura, it is magnificent. Now may I ask what you are doing here?"

She looked at him innocently and pouter her lips, "Now Richard, I'm a tourist here. Can't a woman admire some jewellery?"

"No, not you. When you say admire, you mean shop. You can't buy these Laura." She turned and gave a small laugh, making her way to another display case across the floor.

"I don't plan on _buying_ them, Richard."

She stood in front of a much larger display case, her eyes growing hungrily at the sight before returning to normal again.

"Do you know of Antony and Cleopatra, Richard?" He sighed and made his way to her, one hand in his pocket anxiously fingering his phone.

"Of course," he replies, "any historian worth his salt would have heard of the tragic Antony and Cleopatra. Not to mention any English student who's studied Shakespeare."

"Yes," she responded sarcastically, "the greatest love of all of history. Before Romeo and Juliet were even conceived, Antony dies for his love."

"So did Cleopatra," his comment made her laugh. She chuckled heartily before walking around him, draping her arm across his back seductively.

"You can't possibly believe they were in _love_, Dick? I didn't take you for a romantic," she raised her eyebrow mockingly.

"He killed himself with his knife and had his dying body dragged to her. Upon seeing her beloved impale himself, Cleopatra killed herself with an asp." Dick waved off the story as if it were common knowledge.

"But you forget, she didn't kill herself immediately. She was first brought to Octavian."

"She committed suicide before Octavian," insisted Dick. What was the point in this? Why were they talking history when clearly she had other things in mind.

"The story goes, Octavian wanted her humiliated. After what she did to Caesar. He was a brat, and Cleopatra was _not_ about to be paraded like some harlot," she smirked before adding, "so she killed herself."

"What is your point, Laura," asked Dick, clearly agitated.

"My point is: Cleopatra was a brilliant strategist. A visionary woman of her time. She was a cunning politician with the charms of a snake, and the bite of one too. Not even the great Caesar could resist her," she turned her head towards Dick who was busy looking down at the piece of jewellery.

"When Caesar died, she found herself another military wonder, Antony. Unfortunately for Antony, he made the mistake of falling in love with her." She too looked down at the display. It was a gold necklace with a papyrus shaped pendant and a disc clasp. The pendant was made of gold but adorned with a large carnelian in the centre in the shape of "Hercules's Knot". The brown and black veins of the stone were few, giving it a rare, 'pure' look. The style was so obviously Greco-Roman. It had traces of influences from the Hellenistic period.

"This was his gift to her. It was a far less extravagant gift compared to Alanya, the city in Turkey which they were married in and which he gave to her for their wedding," she began again with the history lesson, "This piece was from Greece, left over from the conquests of Alexander the Great's reign. The centre piece of carnelian was later added, on top of the Gorgon face that was once on the pendant."

"The Knot of Hercules was a popular healing symbol in Egypt and was used as a protective amulet in Greece and Rome," she gave a small smirk, "Oddly enough, it was also considered a wedding gift to give a Knot of Hercules, coining the phrase 'tying the knot'."

Dick waved his hand annoyed, "Yes, yes. I know the folklore. The bride would tie the knot on her girdle and the new groom would untie it, symbolising losing her virginity."

She clapped amusingly, "Well done, Richard. What's surprising is that this was not a gift for their wedding; it was during his courting her."

"A little straight forward don't you think?" asked Dick, eyebrow raised defiantly.

"Yes, you would think so, wouldn't you," she gave him a sideways glance, "That is if you believe in the romanticized version. In reality Antony would have to have been a complete idiot to assume that Cleopatra was a virgin. She was married to Cesar and bore a child for God's sake. He gave her the necklace, but the Knot, so obviously out of place, was added later on." She gave an amused chuckle as at the look of realization on Dick's face.

"He hadn't meant it as a romantic gesture," he slowly took of his glasses, "nor a proposal of marriage."

She shook her head, "No. The knot was used by sailors and known to be nearly unbreakable. Tied by looping two ropes together. It was to symbolize the merger of two, two great empires."

"Meaning to say that Cleopatra was in it for the money and not the love?" She scoffed at his audacious comment.

"Of course not! She was a politician first and foremost, not a giddy school girl," she said laughing, "She lost her ticket to merge Egypt and Rome when Caesar died, so she found herself a handsome new general."

Suddenly her voice became harsh and criticising, "But then of course, there was one big fault in Antony. He was _no_ Caesar. He was weak and stupid," she gave a sigh of remorse, "unfortunate really."

"So, why the sudden interest in Egyptian history," asked Dick finally wanting to get to the point.

"I have no interest in _history_, Richard. Although," she looked down at the necklace enviously, a smirk found its way on her face and her eyes glistened with desire, "My future interest me very much."

He scowled at her and replaced the glasses on his face, "I told you, Laura, it's not for sale."

She pouted at him again, "Richard, can't you _do_ something about that?" The older woman placed a tantalizing hand on his shoulder, slowly dragging her hand down his chest.

"No," he turned away from her and started walking towards the offices, "It doesn't belong to the outside collection. It belongs to the ROM."

* * *

Gar walked closely beside Raven, his arm draped around her waist despite her protests. She would pinch his arm and tell him it would be highly inappropriate for them to be seen in public like that, that people would say things. Gar would just smile and lean in close to her ear, whispering that they shouldn't give a rat's ass about what people think. 

"Stop! I'm telling you, the media would have a field day," she complained. He just winked at her held onto her tighter.

The happy couple walked along the hallowed halls of the ROM, bickering like a teen couple when they finally reached the door of Raven's office. She shrugged off his arm and pointed at finger at him, signalling for him to behave himself. He just played along and gave her a puppy dog pout.

Suddenly the door swung open on the two to reveal a startled Dick on the other side. He had his hand on the door as if he was about to open it, behind him a woman sat on one of the guest chairs either unaware or uninterested in the goings on behind her.

"Oh, Gar. Raven. Good morning," Richard addressed the two and made his way back to the room, "Raven, we've been waiting for you."

Raven shook of Gar's instinctive arm and straightened her blazer while Gar simply stood, sceptically looking at Dick. He watched as the woman in the arm chair rose to reveal a familiar black haired vixen.

"Raven Roth, this is Madame Laura Rouge," he turned to Gar, is covered eyes never looking directly at his as if out of shame that he had to be the one introducing them, "and Garfield, I believe you've met."

Madame Rouge gave a smirk and made her way to Gar, Raven watched her swagger as she passed. She moved easily, gracefully, as if she already owned the place. Of course, her reputation preceded her. Anybody who was anybody in the art world knew of Madame Rouge, the Baroness of DuMassy. She was a ruthlessly prominent art collector, famed for her venomously seductive demeanour, her penchant for rare art, and the fact that she always get what she wants. Legally or otherwise. Of course no one could prove anything. She had her money to cover her tracks, but despite her clean record with the authorities, the art community noticed the pieces in her collection that she could not have gotten through legitimate sources.

"Garfield, how are you? Such a long time it has been, has it not? My you have grown," Gar stood, unwavering to Rouge's advances. Raven watched as his jaw clenched with apprehension and forced a smile through his lips.

"It certainly has Madame." As soon as the words escaped his mouth she had already turned her attention to Raven. The woman stood almost half a foot taller than Raven and certainly emanated that aura about her stature. She looked down and Raven and smiled, stretching out an arm as an offering. Raven took it and was met by a firm shake.

"It is a pleasant honour to meet you Madame Rouge, I assume you-"

Rouge released her hand and waved her off with the other, walking back to the chair, "Yes, yes I am here for the exhibit. Quite a quaint museum you have here Miss Roth. Very… modernistic."

Raven caught a glance from Gar before she made her way to her desk, she wasn't quite sure what it meant but it didn't look pleasant. She sat across from the Madame and noticed that the good woman had been twirling one of her letter openers in her hand. It was in a non-threatening manner, but in her hands a pencil could look threatening.

"But of course, I'm not interested in the aesthetics of your museum-"

"What is it exactly you are here for then?" The venom in Gar's voice startled Raven but Rouge did not even flinch.

She merely closed her eyes and smirked, "I'm here to admire the exhibit Garfield. Why, what ever were you expecting?"

"I don't know," He stood behind the chair, glaring into the back of it, his arms crossed firmly across his chest, "Maybe I thought you were up to your of shenanigans, Rouge." Raven watched the quiet argument that transpired while Dick casually leaned against the opposite wall from Gar.

Raven cleared her throat, "Well Madame-"

Rouge cut her off, "Of course, yes. I suppose it really isn't my place to be intruding in on you like this. I just wanted to meet the famed curator of the exhibit." She rose and bent over the desk to shake Raven's hand one more time. Raven stood and took it, smiling politely.

"I must speak to you some other time Miss Roth," she turned and caught Gar's glare, "Yes, some _other_ time," she glanced back at Raven, a full smile on her face, "Perhaps someplace more private?"

Raven smiled back and nodded, "Just let my secretary know and I could arrange a meeting."

"Come Richard, escort me out of the building will you?" She motioned for Dick to follow her and he did, pushing himself off the wall and continuing to walk with his arms still crossed. Gar watched as they left and closed the door behind them then walked over to the armchair.

"Okay, what was that?" asked Raven, she sat crossing her arms and legs. Gar slumped in the chair and stared up at her.

"I don't like her being here, Rae," he shook his head, "Me and her, we don't get along. And that woman doesn't do anything without an ulterior motive. She wants something, just… watch her."

"For what reason? Garfield you are going to have to give me more than that little Doberman line."

"I know her, Rae," he looked up at her with a look in his eye, "I _know_ her."

* * *

Vic and Karen leaned against the wall observing the museum. People passed in by then without a second thought as they watched pedestrians lean over sealed glass and read little information cards, oblivious to the cameras and security personnel around them. They didn't know about the set up, they were just here to see an exhibit, maybe someday they can tell their children about it. 

Vic frowned as he watched Rouge and Dick rush past through the front doors. They stopped at the foyer, seeming to disagree about something. Dick nodded his head solemnly and let her go. On his way back he glanced over at Vic, his face unreadable because of his glasses.

Karen looked up at Vic's expression, "You don't like it?"

"What's there to like? 'Cuz suddenly it smells like a sewer in here, like rats in the building."

* * *

"I'll take you out for lunch." 

"Garfield, I can't skip out everyday," Raven sighed as gar watched her from across her desk. He had been sitting there for an hour. "Why don't you go out and bring me back something?"

"Because its not the same?"

"Don't you have work to do?" she asked getting a tad tired of it. He sighed and stayed silent for a moment. She watched as he closed his eyes and tilted his head back. Then he opened them, getting up and walking over to her behind her desk. He pulled out her chair and kneeled in front if her, grabbing both her arms and looking her straight in the eye.

"Raven," he began, "it's going to end soon." Her heart skipped a beat. "I can feel it Raven. A-and… I don't know how it's going to turn out. I wish I could tell you, I-I wish I could tell you not to worry about… about me because I'll be fine. T-that whatever happens I'll come home to you at the end of the night. But, I cant. I want to promise you I'll be alright, but I can't. So please Raven-"

She stopped him with a kiss. A chaste one, just to make him stop. She didn't want to hear it; she didn't want to hear the dangers of what he's doing. She didn't want to picture him shot again, to think about him getting thrown off any buildings.

"Stop, Gar, stop. Don't say it. You will be _fine_," he shook his head at her hopefulness, "Stop that! You will! And you _are_ going to come home, okay? You are going to come home, and you're going to cook your little breakfasts, and make your little jokes and carry me to the bed and fuck me right." He chuckled at her bluntness, and so did she. "And-a-and…" She trailed off, nothing more to say. She held his face in her hands and he kissed her again. They pulled away, foreheads still touching.

"I'll take you out for lunch," he repeated.

She closed her eyes tight and fought that fear, "Okay."

* * *

"It happens tonight," a voice rang through the phone, "It doesn't matter about the cops, they can be taken care of. But the longer you wait, the better they get." 

Red X didn't move, he just held the phone against his ear and listened.

"You take care of them, alright? Whatever it takes."

* * *

And he did take her out for lunch. Not far, not fancy. They went to the diner along Yonge, a small little place meant for people going shopping. It was small, grungy and Greek, forgettable in a city like Toronto. 

"Moo, get it? Moo?" He asked hoping to get a chuckle out of her. She rolled her eyes and continued to pick at her souvlaki.

"You know for a great guy, you have the worst jokes."

"You should see me on a bad day then," he smiled as they spoke. They were casual about everything. He didn't need to impress her anymore, they were just a couple sitting in a diner eating lunch. The conversation carried along.

"But I think that's stupid, you can't confuse charity and altruism," she argued, "charity is giving to others and altruism is giving for others."

"Raven, that's the same thing," he smiled.

"No it's not, altruism is when you give to the poor because you want to be seen as the guy who gives to the poor. Charity is when you give to the poor because you don't want them to be poor anymore. It's a difference in who you care for."

"Sooo, when I care for you… Am I altruistic, or charitable?" She shoved him, "because when I care for you, I just feel selfish. Which is a whole other topic."

She raised an eyebrow to ask, "How so?"

"Well, when I care for you, it's because _I_ love you. Not because I want you to be cared for, or I want others to see that I do. But because you make me feel… amazing," he looked in her eye and had a moment, "So really, I'm being selfish."

"So you really don't care about me?" she challenged.

He laughed, "No, _but_ I will give you anything you ever want in the whole world, because I love you. That's a truly selfish emotion."

She smiled at his words, "I guess I'm selfish too."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, soooo I'm back. I'm sorry for the short chapter but I wanna finish this. I can feel the tension mounting; we are building up for a fight, stocking up for a storm, bracing ourselves for a punch and every other metaphor I can give you.**

**They kind of said I love you. Kind of. I got back to this very very very recently and I almost forgot where I was going with it. But now I remember so we're okay. Stay tuned, I'll be writing.**


End file.
